Saturday Stitches - Chain

Good morning!  Welcome to Saturday Stitches, where you watch me learn formal embroidery stitches.  You can find all the Saturday Stitches tutorials in the tab at the top of my blog.  And YES - you can Pin these images.  : )

Here is the Basic Chain stitch.  The trick is to have the stitches inside the loop of the last chain, so they link together.  (Excuse these first 2 photos - they are OLD.)

You can also do them on an angle like this:

See how you begin and end the stitches inside the loops?  It isn't recommended that you weave the needle like this.  In my guild (Bridge City NeedleArts - EAC) they suggest you stitch up, stitch down, stitch up... It keeps the stitches cleaner looking.  You have less twisted threads, and you avoid distorting your cloth.

A good way I like to practice new stitches is to use a grid, or Aida cloth.  See the photo below?  It makes everything straight and if you make a mistake, it's easy to see where you when wrong.

Aida cloth is also a great way to practice putting together stitches for crazy quilting border designs.  It's great to try different colors of threads, different weights of threads, and different fibres (silk, cotton, variegated, ribbon).

Below is one more variation of the chain with an open end.  It creates a wider chain that resembles a ladder.

It's like a quilt pattern.  Depending on the colors and fabric choices, you can make completely different looking quilts.

Incidentally, did you notice my needle?  I just got it and I love it!  It's a double blunt-ended cross stitch needle with the eye is in the middle.  It's actually very nice to use.  It was weird fot me to go back to a regular needle.

Here is the beginning of a sampler of detached chain stitches using a bit of everything from my fibre packs.  I started with the heaviest fibres first, and used the thinnest last.  Each cluster has three detached chains worked out from a central point.

Quite useful on quilted postcards or pillows or needle cases...  : )  or ...the backs of mittens, the lower border of a curtain, etc etc.

Have fun!