SEED STITCH These small straight stitches are known as seed or rice stitch. I am using three strands of embroidery floss to make a delicious row of chocolate chips in one of the tiers of this birthday cake sampler. TIPS: Seed stitches can be used in many different ways to fill an area. Stitch randomly, in vertical or horizontal rows, vary the length, angle or density and use multiple colours for extra interest. For more embroidery projects and to download a free 16 page embroidery ebook visit https://www.sewyeahsocialclub.com Music Early Hours Musician @iksonmusic

STRAIGHT STITCH The simple straight stitch is a very useful stitch, I am using a gold DMC Diamant thread to stitch some sparkler sparkles and 2 strands of floss to stitch a couple of flower leaves and stems to the top of the cake. TIPS: Keep each stitch shorter than 15mm so they lie nice and flat on the surface of your fabric and don’t bunch the fabric up. This can happen if your stitches are too long and you pull too tight. You can couch longer stitches so they stay in place. For more embroidery projects and to download a free 16 page embroidery ebook visit https://www.sewyeahsocialclub.com Music Early Hours Musician @iksonmusic

STAR STITCH These stars are made up of three straight stitches. I am dividing the main skein of floss by gently pulling away the strands I need. For the stars on this birthday cake, begin by making a horizontal stitch, then make two shorter diagonal stitches so they cross the first stitch in the centre. TIPS: Always make your stitches on each star in the same order, so your finished embroidery looks nice and neat. You can either make each stitch individually or as you are finishing one stitch you can bring your needle out of the fabric at the point of the next stitch, this may be slightly quicker, but I find it trickier to get my needle to come up in the right place, so they tend to be messier! I show both methods in this video. For more embroidery projects and to download a free 16 page embroidery ebook visit https://www.sewyeahsocialclub.com Music Early Hours Musician @iksonmusic

This stitch is the stitch we (hopefully) learn when we are small and sewing two pieces of fabric together. It can also be used as a decorative stitch if you vary the length of the stitches, mix up the spaces between stitches and also if you use more than one colour as I have here. To keep the stitches and spaces even, I like to make each stitch individually, but you can also take the needle in and out of the fabric many times before you pull the thread through (this is tricky when working on a hoop), but beware, this can lead to a row made up of uneven sized stitches. For two coloured running stitch, once you have stitched a row in one colour, fill in the gaps with a second colour. For extra neatness, try and insert the needle into the holes made by the first row. For more embroidery projects and to download a free 16 page embroidery ebook visit https://www.sewyeahsocialclub.com

BACK STITCH Back stitch is the foundation of one of my most favourite stitches (whipped back stitch) It makes a nice solid line of stitches, ideal for outlines. Begin by making a simple short stitch. Then bring your needle out of the fabric the same distance away as the length of the first stitch. The next stitch is worked backwards (hence the name) towards the previous stitch. Keep going. TIPS: for extra neatness, try and insert your needle into the hole the previous stitch made. PS: Can I just say, sewing on a fixed hoop under a camera is awkward! Apologies if my hands look odd. For more embroidery projects and to download a free 16 page embroidery ebook visit https://www.sewyeahsocialclub.com Music Early Hours Musician @iksonmusic

My most favourite stitch. Adding a second colour of floss to a back stitch makes an impressive looking stitch that is actually very simple to do. It looks really decorative, and also makes great candy canes at Christmas. After sewing a row of back stitch, use a contrasting coloured floss and bring your needle up from the back of the fabric alongside the first stitch. Take your needle and floss under this first stitch and bring it over the top of the row of stitches and pass it under the second stitch from the same direction as the first. Do not sew through any fabric as you go. When you reach the end of the row, insert the needle alongside the end of the final back stitch. FACT: You can also whip stitches like fly stitch and chain stitch. If you whip back stitch with the same colour thread, it creates a really clear outline stitch that curves beautifully. For more embroidery projects and to download a free 16 page embroidery ebook visit https://www.sewyeahsocialclub.com

LOOPED BACK STITCH also known as Pekinese stitch This stitch is similar to whipped back stitch, you don’t take the needle and floss through the fabric when creating the loops, apart from at the beginning and end of the row. Begin by sewing a row of back stitch. With a contrasting colour bring the needle up from the back of the fabric just above the first back stitch. Pass the needle beneath this first stitch, then pass it back up under the second stitch. Take the needle and floss under the first stitch again creating a loop and then pass it under the third stitch. Pass needle and thread under the second stitch creating another loop and then pass it under the fourth. Continue along the row. TIPS For the neatest looking stitch, make sure the needle passes over the thread of the previous loop each time (or under, just keep it consistent.) Metallic thread works really well for this stitch as it has a natural curve to it. Use your needle tip to manipulate the loops and keep their sizes even. For more embroidery projects and to download a free 16 page embroidery ebook visit https://www.sewyeahsocialclub.com Music Early Hours Musician @iksonmusic

SPLIT STITCH This stitch is great for making curved outlines and also works brilliantly as an effective fill stitch, when worked in rows or ever decreasing spirals to fill a shape. It can be worked in two ways, Split Stitch or Split Back Stitch. I have used four strands of floss on this sampler. 1. SPLIT STITCH Begin by making a normal straight stitch, then bring your needle up from the back of the fabric, through the middle of this stitch ‘splitting’ the floss. Complete the stitch by inserting the needle and floss a stitch length away. This version of the stitch can be a little trickier as you can’t see the needle is in the right place till it pokes through the stitch. 2. SPLIT BACK STITCH Begin as before by making a normal straight stitch, bring your needle and floss up through the fabric a stitch length away from the first stitch. Insert the needle and floss BACK through the middle of the first stitch, splitting it in the process. This is an easier version of the stitch as you can see where the needle is going. For more embroidery projects and to download a free 16 page embroidery ebook visit https://www.sewyeahsocialclub.com Music Early Hours Musician @iksonmusic

CHAIN STITCH Bring the needle up from the back of the fabric at A. Return at B as close as you can get to A without going into the same hole. Bring the needle out at C (in one move, if comfortable), looping the floss under the needle. Carefully pull the needle and floss through until the thread creates a gentle loop. Don’t pull too tight as you will lose the loopiness. Return the needle at D and out at E to continue. If you find it tricky to do the move from B to C in one go then just do it in two. Sometimes when your fabric is stretched tight in a hoop it’s hard. TIPS: Once you have the hang of Chain Stitch you can add other stitches to it to make it more decorative. You could try whipping it or add a row of running stitch or small beads inside each chain. PS: Sometimes I feel I might be doing my stitches back to front as otherwise you would just have a giant hand in the way of the camera all the time! So if this feels uncomfortable to you then try working left to right instead. For more embroidery projects and to download a free 16 page embroidery ebook visit https://www.sewyeahsocialclub.com Music Early Hours Musician @iksonmusic

SCALLOP STITCH Another of my favourite stitches. I feel this works best with a metallic floss, as the slight stiffness of the floss helps hold the curve better. To begin, bring your needle and thread out at A and return it at B, leaving a loop of thread. Bring the needle out at C and wrap the thread behind the needle. Return the needle into the fabric at D, catching the thread in place as you go. Bring the needle out at E and continue. It is possible to make a more fluid version of this stitch by wrapping the floss around your needle when making the stitch from B-C - See the second stitch on this video as an example. Remember to keep the floss arched by not pulling too tight as you stitch – unless you want a zigzag! For more embroidery projects and to download a free 16 page embroidery ebook visit https://www.sewyeahsocialclub.com Music Early Hours Musician @iksonmusic

SINGLE LAZY DAISY I guess this stitch is a form of Lazy Daisy, it is useful for making little petal or leaf shapes, or in this instance little dots of icing on top of the cake. This stitch is made in the same way as a scallop stitch, but by making the space between A and B much narrower you create more of an oval shape. If you want to use the stitch to make a flower shape, then make 5 or six stitches in a circle around a centre point or make a half flower as I have here. This stitch was particularly hard to make on this hoop while it was fixed in the embroidery stand, I found it much easier to make when I held the hoop in my lap For more embroidery projects and to download a free 16 page embroidery ebook visit https://www.sewyeahsocialclub.com Music Early Hours Musician @iksonmusic

FLY STITCH Another one of my favourite stitches. Begin by bringing your needle out at A and return it at B making a small straight stitch. If you can, bring the needle out at C at the same time (this can be tricky if your fabric is too tight in your hoop, so you can do this in two steps). Slide the needle in at D and out at E but don’t pull the needle and floss all the way through. Loop the floss around the needle tip and then continue pulling the needle and floss through to complete the stitch. Continue. TIP: Working from top to bottom you can make lovely leaf like stitches for plants and working from bottom to top gives you cute little fit trees perfect for Christmas. This stitch can also be whipped with a different colour thread down the middle row of stitches. For more embroidery projects and to download a free 16 page embroidery ebook visit https://www.sewyeahsocialclub.com Music Early Hours Musician @iksonmusic

COUCHING This is a fun stitch! A nice one for outlining shapes, especially curved ones. 1. Begin by bringing the needle and a full strand of floss up from the back of the fabric. I like to then return the needle and floss loosely back into the fabric at the end of the section I want to couch, but others just leave it lying on the fabric (till they have finished step 2 and then they stitch it into the fabric to hide the ends). 2. With 2 strands of a second floss make small stitches over the first, catching it down onto the fabric. If you are following a curved line, gradually move the first floss to follow the line and catch it down with the small stitches a few at a time. TIP: Rows of couching sewn close together with alternating lengths of smaller stitches make a great fill stitch for brick walls and houses! For more embroidery projects and to download a free 16 page embroidery ebook visit https://www.sewyeahsocialclub.com Music Early Hours Musician @iksonmusic

TRELLIS STITCH This is a new favourite of mine. Useful for filling larger areas with interesting decoration and it also makes lovely lattice windows in houses. This stitch can be sewn as diamonds as shown here and also as squares. 1. Begin by sewing equidistant long straight stitches across the area you want to fill. Repeat in the opposite direction to create a lattice. 2. With a contrasting colour, sew small straight stitches across the floss where the original stitches cross. 3. For extra decoration, add small beads, French knots or star stitches inside each lattice. For more embroidery projects and to download a free 16 page embroidery ebook visit https://www.sewyeahsocialclub.com Music Early Hours Musician @iksonmusic

BLANKET STITCH To begin, sew a small straight stitch, then sew a second one in the same holes but take your needle under the first stitch before you reinsert it into the fabric to finish. You only have to do this when you first start a row of stitches, it is to avoid a wonky first stitch. Insert the needle at A and bring it out at B, passing the needle over the floss, so when you pull the needle through, the floss creates an L shaped stitch. Repeat. TIP: Blanket stitch is also a great stitch for joining two pieces of felt together, for example, when sewing up a decoration. For more embroidery projects and to download a free 16 page embroidery ebook visit https://www.sewyeahsocialclub.com Music Early Hours Musician @iksonmusic

FRENCH KNOTS This is a very satisfying stitch once you have the hang of it. There are a few ways of making this stitch. I learnt a different one when I was young, but I am training myself to use this method as it is easier and creates neater knots. Bring the needle up from the back of your fabric. With the needle pointing away from your work, wrap the floss around the needle twice (or the needle round the floss, whichever is more comfortable for you). Insert the needle back into the felt very close to the original stitch. Holding the thread taut, pull the needle through, sliding the knot down onto the felt. Pull the thread all the way through the knot to secure. TIP: the more times you wrap the floss round the needle, the larger your knots will be. Beware, too many wraps will make a weird shaped knot. For more embroidery projects and to download a free 16 page embroidery ebook visit https://www.sewyeahsocialclub.com Music Early Hours Musician @iksonmusic

There are so many ways to decorate embroidery with beads and sequins. The beads can be pretty tiny so you do need a beading needle and finer floss. Where I can, I try to get my beads and sequins preloved from ebay or I buy old jewellery or sequinned clothing from charity shops and take them apart! 1. Bring your needle and floss up from the back of your work, thread on a sequin. Next thread on a bead, then take the needle and floss over and around the bead, and back through the sequin hole. The bead acts as an anchor, keeping the sequin in place. 2. Sew a series of straight stitches around the sequin and through the centre hole each time. Layering up smaller sequins for different effects. 3. Little beaded flowers look really cute and there is a quicker way of making them, rather than sewing each bead on individually. Begin by stitching the central bead in place. Bring the needle and floss out of the fabric just below the central bead, thread 6 beads onto the floss. Return the needle and floss into the fabric just beside the first stitch, carefully pull the floss, and let the beads arrange themselves in a loop around the central bead. Make a couple of small stitches between the beads catching the floss only the fabric and holding them all in place. SO CUTE! For more embroidery projects and to download a free 16 page embroidery ebook visit https://www.sewyeahsocialclub.com Music: Early Hours Muscian @iksonmusic