Straight stitch

Seed stitches (small, detached running stitches) are used on the center ribs of these flower petals.

Pattern darning

Straight or Flat stitch is a class of simple embroidery and sewing stitches in which individual stitches are made without crossing or looping the thread. These stitches are used to form broken or unbroken lines or starbursts, fill shapes and create geometric designs.

Running stitch, Holbein or double-running stitch, satin stitch and darning stitch are all classed as straight or flat stitches. Backstitch is also sometimes included in this category.

Applications

Pattern darning is an ancient technique in which parallel rows of straight stitches in varying lengths are arranged to form geometric patterns. Japanese Kogin embroidery is a pattern darning style from the island of Honshū, often worked in white cotton thread on rough, dark blue indigo-dyed linen.

Stitch gallery

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  Arrowhead stitch

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  Eye stitch

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  Algerian eye stitch

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  Fishbone stitch

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  Open fishbone stitch

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  Raised fishbone stitch

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  Flat stitch

See also

• Blackwork embroidery
• Darning
• Embroidery stitches

References

• Caulfield, S.F.A., and B.C. Saward, The Dictionary of Needlework, 1885.
• Christie, Grace (Mrs. Archibald Christie: Embroidery and Tapestry Weaving, London, John Hogg, 1912
• Eaton, Jan. Mary Thomas's Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches, Revised by Jan Eaton. London: Hodder&Stoughton, 1989. ISBN 0-340-51075-7
• Enthoven, Jacqueline: The Creative Stitches of Embroidery, Van Norstrand Rheinhold, 1964, ISBN 0-442-22318-8
• Reader's Digest, Complete Guide to Needlework. The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. (March 1992). ISBN 0-89577-059-8
• Levey, S. M. and D. King, The Victoria and Albert Museum's Textile Collection Vol. 3: Embroidery in Britain from 1200 to 1750, Victoria and Albert Museum, 1993, ISBN 1-85177-126-3

External links

• The Crimson Thread of Kinship is a 12-metre-long embroidery predominately using a straight stitch at the National Museum of Australia