4 Embroidery Stitches to Embellish Your Next Knitting or Crochet Project
Add a special and unique touch to your knitting or crochet by adding embroidery! These four essential embroidery stitches will give you plenty to explore and play with.
Set Up for Success
First, let’s talk about embroidery on knitted and crochet fabric. Knitted or crocheted fabric present a unique set of challenges for embroidery—it’s bumpy and there are holes between all the stitches.
Embroidering on top of lace makes it so much easier! It serves both as a backing and as a template. Brenda K. B. Anderson is the master of this technique. She has a tutorial aimed at knitters and one aimed at crocheters to show you how!
Without getting too deep into Brenda’s exact method of embroidering on crocheted and knitted garments, I do want to point out the real genius of her method.
Brenda discovered that she could alleviate most of the woes that come with embroidering on knitted or crocheted fabric by embroidering her motifs using a separate fabric substrate (in this case floral lace) to help moderate her tension.
Essential Embroidery Stitches
Using Brenda’s method, here are 4 embroidery stitches you can use to make your very own embroidered creations.
1. Backstitch
Backstitch is a great way to outline your embroidery and can add definition to areas of color. Work a backstitch by bringing up stitches from front to back while working forward along a line.
2. Satin Stitch
Satin stitch is the traditional way to fill in areas of color in embroidery and is the method that Brenda uses for the Sumptuous Sandals and Flourishing Purse. Work closely spaced straight stitches in graduated lengths, filling in the desired area.
3. Brick Stitch
Also known as the long-and-short stitch, the brick stitch is a personal favorite of mine. Working similarly as you would to a satin stitch, work closely spaced stitches along a desired space, but instead of making the stitches the same length as you would in satin, alternate your stitch lengths from long to short. This creates a brick-like appearance in your stitches and is ideal for filling in larger areas of color.
4. French Knot
French knots allow you to create little bumps on the surface of your fabric. Place them close together to create a textured surface, or use them as accents on a satin-stitch background.
Brenda’s genius method opens up a whole world of embroidered embellishment possibilities in your crocheting.
Will you be embroidering for you next crochet project? Let me know in the comments below!
Originally published 4/4/2018. Updated 3/9/2024.
Embroidered Inspiration
I have no training in embroidery and when I attempt it, I make a mess on the backside. What do your backsides look like and are the items reversible?