Speciality Stitches Tutorials

Bring the needle out on the right side of the fabric, and put it through the same hole again. Then bring the needle back out again a little further away, at the other end of the stitch.
The end of a stitch is the beginning of a new one — hence the chain pattern.

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Work in 2 stages, with 2 lengths of thread.
First, lay your first length of cotton on the fabric, positioning it where it should go.
Then, use your second length of cotton to keep your first one in place, by stitching tiny stitches around it at regular intervals.

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Stitch it as you would a normal cross stitch, except that you do it over four blocks rather than just one.

On top of this classic cross, stitch another cross: a vertical stitch, followed by a horizontal one.

Your double cross stitch should look like this.

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Bring the needle out on the right side of the fabric, and twist the cotton 3 times around your needle.

Put the needle through the fabric close to the previous hole (but not actually through it so that the knot does not get dragged through to the wrong side of the fabric.)
To get a neat knot, keep the cotton nice and taut while you pull your needle through the fabric.

Your French knot should look like this.

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Stitch it alternating left and right side, always bringing the needle back towards you, stitching from left to right.

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Start with a row of forward stitches, following the main direction you want your running stitch to take.

Now use a new length of thread, and pass it through the previous stitches, alternating sides. Take care not to tighten your cotton too much or you’ll lose the effect.

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Bring the needle out on the right side and put it through the same hole. Then bring the needle back out again a little further away, at the other end of the stitch.

Put the needle back through the fabric close to the last hole rather than through it. By doing this, you tack the petal stitch to the fabric without risk of it being dragged through to the wrong side when you tighten your stitch.

Repeat for each petal.

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Start with the 2 stitches that make the bottom leaf.

Then work the 2 outer stitches of the top leaf.

Save the vertical stitch for the end, to ensure a neat finish.

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Start with the first diagonal stitch as you would a normal cross-stitch (except the stitch is longer, of course).

Then stitch the other diagonal stitch, still as you would a normal cross-stitch.
Bring your needle back to the right side of the fabric, on the right hand side of the stitch, at mid-height.

Stitch a backstitch across the oblong stitch you had just done, so as to secure the long cross into place.

Your Oblong cross-stitch with backstitch should look like this.

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Start with the first diagonal stitch and work your way clockwise around the heart.

Keep the vertical stitch for last.

Your Rhodes Heart should look like this.

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Stitch 3 vertical stitches.

After the 3rd stitch, bring your needle back out in the centre of the Sheaf stitch (under the 2nd vertical stitch).

Bring together the 3 vertical stitches with a couple of stitches in the centre.

Your Sheaf stitch should look like this.

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Please see the explanations given for the Double Cross stitch.

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Bring your needle back towards you when stitching under the fabric, and work away from you to start a new stitch.
To achieve a neat finish, hold your cotton with a thumb just below your working area. It will save your cotton from getting in the way of your stitching.

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Start with the horizontal branch, made of 3 stitches. (Do the horizontal stitch first — a little longer than the others — then stitch the other 2, crossing over the first one.)

Repeat for the vertical branch of this stitch.

Finish your Triple Cross stitch with a single cross stitch in the centre to hold everything in place.

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