Palestrina Stitch

The Palestrina embroidery stitch is also known by many other names just like tied coral stitch, Smyrna stitch, double knot stitch. The Palestrina is a common embroidery pattern observed in Italy and many Italian types of embroidery are composed of the Palestrina stitch. The Palestrina embroidery stitch is characterized by a kind of knotted line formed by the thread and it is significant to note that the use of this stitching technique is not confined to even-weave fabrics but on the contrary it can be used on a variety of fabrics. The designs of the Palestrina embroidery stitch work are in the form of a line and are commonly used for bordering purposes. The knotted line effect is the most important and striking feature of the Palestrina embroidery stitch and while threads of different kinds and quality can be used, the best option is to use the pearl cotton threads which are twisted threads and are able to produce the knotted effect perfectly. It is interesting to notice that all the knots need to be placed at equal distances from each other and from a distance they seem to be arranged in a linear fashion following a curvature. There can be two major kinds of Palestrina embroidery stitch. If the lines above the knots enlarge upwards it is known as Long Armed Palestrina embroidery stitch while if the lines below the knot moves downwards it is called Long Legged Palestrina embroidery stitch.