Procedure of doing back stitch embroidery

Following is the procedure of doing back stitch. Bring the needle and thread from the back to the front of the fabric. Put the needle down through the fabric about 1/8-inch away from where you started (For right-handers, it may feel more natural to move to the left; left-handers may prefer the right).Bring the needle up approximately 1/8-inch away from where you went down. Pull the thread through. Put the needle back down in the same spot you did before, taking a backstitch.

Procedute of doing Smocking Stitch embroidery

In this technique of embroidery it is essential to gathering threads which lay the pleats perfectly straight, and to regulate the distance of the stitches one from the other accurately. The whole beauty of the work depends upon the evenness of the gathering. One can buy a sheet of impression paper with dots to indicate the distance between the stitches and the gathering threads but with patience one can manage very well with a tape measure, using a pencil on white cloth, or chalk on silk and woolen fabrics. The most difficult thing while doing the Smocking stitch embroidery is how to start it or in other word how to knot the first stitch and the solution to that to hold your needle parallel.

Looped stiitch

Looped embroidery Stitches are also called "Pile embroidery Stitches”. These embroidery stitches create a texture which gives the 3-D look. The mound surface is created by the loops contained in the stitches. Some stitches remain with the loops intact and some require the loops be cut. Usually looped embroidery stitches are generally used in rug making and they may also be used in any needlepoint project that requires a 3-D or mound look. Some of the more interesting looped embroidery stitches include the loop stitch, the shell stitch and the velvet stitch.

Sicilian drawn thread stitch

Sicilian drawn-thread embroidery stitch is one of the earliest and most ancient forms of open work embroidery came from the countries having borders with the Mediterranean Sea. Later this dawn work was introduced into Greece, Italy, Russia, Germany and Spain under the names PUNTO TIRATO (threads drawn one way) and PUNTO TAGLIATO (threads drawn both ways). Towards the end of the 16th century, the art of embroidering on linen was taken up in England by members of the Royal Household, who being clever at lace making, introduced lace stitches intermingled with drawn thread work to enrich their clothes and household linen. Elizabethan portraits show spectacular ruffs decorated with drawn thread work. The embroidery of the 16th Century had such a large number of threads cut and withdrawn that they were strengthened and decorated with darning and needle weaving, and with threads added diagonally and in curves which were held in place with bars. In 19th and early 20th centuries an enormous quantity of drawn thread work was produced on linen and cotton to decorate bed and table linen. This embroidery stitch is used for the decoration of lingerie, handkerchiefs, sheets, tray cloths and tea cloths, towels, nightdress cases and other household fundamentals.

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.

Smocking Stitch

Smocking stitch is an embroidery technique used to gather fabric so that it can stretch. Before the introduction of elastic, smocking was commonly used in cuffs, bodices, and necklines in garments where buttons were undesirable. Smocking developed in England and has been practiced since the Middle Ages and is unusual among embroidery methods in that it was often worn by laborers. Other major embroidery styles are purely decorative and represented status symbols. Smocking was practical for garments to be both form fitting and flexible, hence its name derives from smock a farmer's work shirt. Smocking was used most extensively in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Cross Stitch

Cross stitch is one of the oldest forms of embroidery and can be found all over the world. Many folk museums show examples of clothing decorated with cross stitch, especially from continental Europe and Asia. Two-dimensional cross stitch in floral and geometric patterns, usually worked in black and red cotton floss on linen, is characteristic of folk embroidery in Eastern and Central Europe. Multi colored, shaded, painting like patterns as we know them today are a recent development, deriving from similar shaded patterns of Berlin wool work of the mid-nineteenth century. Traditionally, cross stitch was used to embellish items like dishcloths, household linens, and doilies (only a small portion of which would actually be embroidered, such as a border). Although there are many embroiders who still employ it in this fashion, especially in Europe, it is now increasingly popular to simply embroider pieces of fabric and hang them on the wall for decoration.