I bet everybody is familiar with embroidery stitches. After all, in the art of embroidery, the stitches are the most basic. It is even considered by the embroidery experts as the smallest unit of the craft, with the embroidery patterns being produced by doing a number of them, either through repetitions or a variation.

The embroidery stitches are typically done in two methods. The first is the so-called hand-sewing method, and the other is the stab method.

In the hand-sewing method, the embroidery stitches are formed by inserting and bringing a needle upside of the embroidery fabric. Simply put, the stitches are made when the needle is inserted into the material and pushed back to the surface in a single movement. After which, the thread is pulled through to create a plain stitch effect.

On the other hand, the stab method of creating embroidery stitches involves inserting the needle into the fabric at an angle of about 90 degrees. The thread is pulled through and the needle is again inserted from the underside of the fabric. The second time that the thread is pulled through signals the end of the basic movement.

As you may notice, both the hand-sewing and stab method of creating embroidery stitches are simple to do. They can be performed in no time at all. But, through these methods, several stitches can be formed; some are a bit complicated, while others are as easy as pie. What are these stitches? Some of the most common embroidery stitches are the following:

Straight Stitches: These are simply stitches that are made by passing through the surface of the fabric in up and down motion. The most common examples of these embroidery stitches are simple satin stitch, running stitch, fern stitch, Algerian stitch, Bosnian and double running stitch.

Back Stitches: Unlike the straight stitches, the back stitch pass through the ground of a fabric in circular motion. In its simplest form, the needle comes up from the back of the material and stitched to the right and again goes back to the back of the material. From the back of the fabric, the needle passes behind the first stitch and then appears to the front of the fabric facing left of the first stitch. The stitches are just done by a repetition of such movements.

Chain Stitches: Of the embroidery stitches, it is this kind which works to catch a loop of the thread on the fabric ground. You can do it by bringing the needle through the material at the stitch’s one end. Then, insert the needle back at the same place and pushed it through the opposite end of the stitch. From there, loop the thread and pull it through the fabric.

Cross Stitches: The cross-stitch is basically one of the most popular forms of embroidery stitches. It is simply done by creating a diagonal stitch that goes in one direction and crosses the diagonal in the other direction to create an “x”.

There are a lot more notable forms of embroidery stitches. Included in the list are the feather stitches, blanket or buttonhole stitch, laid or couching stitch, knotted stitch, bullion knots, French knot, and a lot more.