page_title: Embroidery stitch
section_title: Back stitches
hierarchical_section_title: Embroidery stitch / Common stitches / Back stitches
caption_attribution_description: English: An example of crewel stitch
context_page_description: In everyday language, a stitch in the context of embroidery or hand-sewing is defined as the movement of the embroidery needle from the back of the fibre to the front side and back to the back side. The thread stroke on the front side produced by this is also called stitch. In the context of embroidery, an embroidery stitch means one or more stitches that are always executed in the same way, forming a figure. Embroidery stitches are also called stitches for short.
  Embroidery stitches are the smallest units in embroidery. Embroidery patterns are formed by doing many embroidery stitches, either all the same or different ones, either following a counting chart on paper, following a design painted on the fabric or even working freehand.
context_section_description: Back stitches pass through the fabric ground in an encircling motion. The needle in the simplest backstitch comes up from the back of the fabric, makes a stitch to the right going back to the back of the fabric, then passes behind the first stitch and comes up to the front of the fabric to the left of the first stitch. The needle then goes back to the back of the fabric through the same hole the stitch first came up from. The needle then repeats the movement to the left of the stitches and continues. Some examples of a back stitch are:
  Stem stitch or outline stitch
  Split stitch – the needle pierces the thread as it comes back up
  Crewel stitch - one of the easiest and most useful stitches
caption: An example of crewel stitch
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