Buttonhole Stitch
The buttonhole stitch is a great outlining and edging stitch. As the name suggests, it's often used for buttonholes, but can also be used as a decorative edging, fill, or as part of stumpwork.
What you'll need to create the buttonhole stitch:
Buttonhole Stitch Video
Buttonhole Stitch Step-by-Step Tutorial
1. Start at the point you would like the inside bottom bar of the buttonhole to begin. Hold the thread towards the place you want the horizontal line of the buttonhole to be. Then bring the needle back down next to the point the thread is coming out of the fabric. This should make an upside down 'U' of thread on the front of the fabric.
2. Next bring the needle up through the fabric, inside the loop of thread, where the horizontal line of the buttonhole will be.
3. Gently tug the thread so that the loop becomes flush with the fabric.
4. Next, hold the thread towards the horizontal line and bring the needle back down through the fabric at the bottom point of the buttonhole. If you are creating an arc, this will be in the same place as the previous inner stitch. If you are filling in a shape, this will be slightly further along the inner edge of the shape.
5. Continue adding segments of the buttonhole until reaching the desired shape/size.
6. To end the buttonhole stitch, bring the needle back down through the fabric just to the right of the top of the last thread loop.
Looking for more helpful embroidery tips, supplies, and hands-on workshops?
Workshops
Join Melissa Galbraith of MCreativeJ for a hands-on workshop! Melissa makes hand embroidery easy with a wide variety of embroidery classes. Classes are beginner-friendly to advanced and will walk you through a wide variety of stitches, techniques, and designs.
Find all upcoming workshops at: www.mcreativej.com/upcoming-seattle-events
Embroidery Books
Want a great hand embroidery reference? Try one of Melissa's hand embroidery books! Each book is great for beginners and breaks down materials, stitches, techniques, and projects for you.
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