Backstitch

Back stitch is my favourite stitch, simple to learn and it creates a beautiful line. It can be used to outline shapes or to fill them.

The trick is to keep your stitches a consistent length. Mine are relatively small, about 2 or 3mm but you tend to find your own natural stitch length with practice.

Bring your needle up through the fabric to the front .

Now you are going to go backwards and take your needle down to make the first stitch and bring it back up a stitch length from the beginning of your first stitch (picture 3).

Next take your needle back down through the same hole as the previous stitch ended (picture 4).

Carry on until your line is finished.

If you stitch another row of backstitch right next to the first you can use it as a filler stitch. I like to do this in the way bricks are layed (known as brick stitch) by starting the first stitch in the middle of the stitch below as shown in the first two pictures.