8 hand embroidery stitches to use for lines
These five hand embroidery stitches are perfect for stitching lines.
There are many times in hand stitching that you want to embroider a line. Different stitches can give different line effects.
You can stitch lines that are thin or thick, smooth or textured. These are examples of lines that give those effects.
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8 Embroidered Lines
The combinations of thin / thick and smooth / textured give four different types of lines.
1. Thin and smooth lines
Stem stitch
Stem stitch is a nice choice for embroidering a smooth, thin line.
See a detailed stem stitch tutorial here.
Couching
Couching lines have the characteristics of the fibre you are couching.
See a detailed couching tutorial here.
2. Thin and textured lines
Chain stitch
Chain stitch gives a thin line with lots of texture.
See a detailed chain stitch tutorial here.
Coral stitch
Coral stitch looks like a straight line with regular dots.
3. Thick and smooth lines
Encroaching stem stitch
Encroaching stem stitch makes a very wide, solid line.
Double chain stitch
This line is smooth, but isn’t solid.
See many more chain stitch variations here.
4. Thick and textured lines
Herringbone
Herringbone stitch is made with overlapping lines that appear like a zig zag line.
See a detailed tutorial for herringbone stitch here.
Chevron
Chevron is stitched in a very similar way to herringbone, but looks totally different.
Enjoy using these stitches in all your embroidery projects.
More Embroidery Resources
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Hand Embroidery Patterns
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Detailed Tutorials
Get detailed embroidery tutorials to help you make your own hand stitching projects more easily. Lots of pictures and videos to make everything clear.
Embroidery Stitches
Check out the Embroidery Stitch Directory for lots of inspiration.