Embroidery School – stitches and flower embroidery on knitwear

Sometimes it can be hard to know which stitch suits what. Here you will find illustrations and guidance for the different stitches, and for the flower embroideries that come back again and again in my designs. The page is updated regularly 🤎

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Part 1 – Stitches and sewing illustrations · Part 2 – Flower embroideries

Part 1 – Stitches and sewing illustrations

Lazy daisy stitch

Lazy daisy stitch is the perfect stitch for embroidering small leaves and fine details. Bring the needle up where you want the stitch to start, and lay the yarn in a loop as large as you want. Then take the needle back down where it came up, and bring the needle up again on the other side. Make a small stitch over the loop to hold it in place.

The flower stitch

Lazy daisy stitch is the perfect flower stitch. This illustration shows how the stitch is used to make a simple flower.

French knots – version 1

Wind the yarn around the needle many times. Keep the yarn taut, and take the tip of the needle back down close to where it came up. The more times you wind around the needle, the bigger the knot. French knots work well as stamens in flower embroidery.

French knots – version 2

To make a French knot, wind the yarn around the needle while you keep the yarn taut, and take the needle down close to where it came up. The more times the yarn is wound around the needle, the bigger the knot. The stitches are embroidered one by one or in groups.

Chain stitch

Chain stitch is made of small loops that form a chain on the right side. Bring the needle up at the top point, and lay the yarn in a loop to the left. Then take the needle down next to where it came up, and up a little further down, with the yarn under the needle tip. This stitch is perfect for flower stems, for example.

Stem stitch

Stem stitch is a stitch embroidered on the slant. You can work the stitches to the right or to the left, or both. Take the needle down into the knitting as far as the stitch length you want, and then up again next to the previous stitch. This stitch is often used for outlines.

Blanket stitch

Blanket stitch is always embroidered to the right. The yarn lies under the needle tip. The stitches can be of different lengths, and placed at different spacing or in groups. Often used for edges, buttonholes and for attaching appliqués.

Cross stitch

Cross stitch is embroidered in two steps: first a stitch slanting right, then one slanting left. The stitch forms a cross on the right side and a vertical stitch on the wrong side. The top stitches must all go in the same direction. Embroider one cross stitch at a time, or first embroider a row of half cross stitches and then the crossing stitches.

Satin stitch

Satin stitch can be embroidered one-sided or double-sided. A double-sided satin stitch looks the same on both the right and the wrong side. A one-sided one is embroidered along the outline only, so just the small stitches show on the wrong side.

Backstitch

Backstitch is an even diagonal stitch. The stitches are often used to embroider outlines and small details, and are often worked as a straight line over or next to stitches already embroidered. Take the needle down behind where you brought it up last time, and then up the same distance in front of the previous down point. Backstitch should be embroidered last of all the stitches.

Double backstitch

You work double backstitch towards yourself, two steps forward and one back. Insert the needle close to the previous stitch, then make a stitch twice as long going forward.

Long and short stitch

Long and short stitch is made of more or less closely placed stitches of different lengths. Often used to fill larger areas, and perfect for flower embroidery.

Part 2 – Flower embroideries

Scentless mayweed

This yellow mayweed is embroidered with simple lazy daisy stitches. Here I chose to keep the centre of the flower open to give it a lighter look.

Red clover

This red clover is embroidered with chain stitch in different shades of pink to give the flower depth. The flower is embroidered from the top down, so the stitches lie over each other.

Harebell

This harebell is made with lazy daisy stitches in different lengths. The harebell also has a leaf at the bottom.

Oxeye daisy

To make this oxeye daisy I used white silk embroidery thread together with mohair yarn. The stamens are made with French knots and lazy daisy stitches.

Red campion

This one is made with lazy daisy stitches in pink mohair, with several white stamens in the centre embroidered with French knots. It has small leaves at the bottom, in chain stitch in green variegated mohair from Bella by Permin.

Wood anemone

This wood anemone is embroidered with lazy daisy stitches, in a combination of white mohair and gold yarn. The stamens are embroidered with French knots in gold.

Patterns with embroidery

26 of my patterns have embroidered details. Among them Krokus, Midsummer Love, MAY – The Cardigan and When I Need a Friend.

See the Paradise collection →

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