Check out these helpful top stitching tips from National Sewing Circle to enhance your next sewing project

New month, new stitches! Today and few next days let's take a look at cretan stitch and some of its variations as well as herringbone stitch and romanian couching. I tried to group them together based on the fact that they are often used in crewel embroidery as a filling technique and also they are quite popular for working leaves and similar shapes. Cretan stitch will be quite easy to conquer if you are already familiar with fly stitch and feather stitch because the technique is very similar. So if you forgot them, it's time to refresh your memory and make few practice stitches. Where to apply cretan stitch? From what I noticed, it is a very popular way to work leaves, especially in crewel embroidery. And I actually like using it for this purpose as well! You can see my cretan leaves in this design - they turn out having satin stitch-resemblant sides and braided dimensional “spine” which I think looks lovely. The only nuance is that it probably would work better with simple shaped leaves, you know, without the ragged sides. Another way to apply cretan stitch is to work a border. Crazy quilting, anyone? Add some french knots or lazy daisy stitches on the tips of cretan stitch and it will make a pretty decorative border. You can also adjust cretan stitch's appearance by changing the place of the stitch points... well, it will be clearer after we take a look at how to actually work it. How to work cretan stitch First, we need to make a stitch from A to B. As you see, the B point is situated a bit lower than A. Next, bring the needle back to the front of the fabric through the point C, which is lower than B but closer to A. From C we make a stitch ending at point D, which is, again, a bit lower. And come up through the fabric at point E. Note that both, in this step and the previous one, when we bring the needle up through the fabric, the stitch is under the needle. I prefer the stabbing way of working cretan stitch, but you can also use a sewing method if you want. Just don't forget to keep the thread under the needle when you work it. Here's how you change the look of cretan stitch, making it more open or close. Also, the points C and E from the first two pictures can be situated closer to the edges of the border, or they can be right under each other – all of these alterations will bring forward something new in this stitch. Cretan stitch leaf As much as I'm an advocate of fine embroidery and using primarily 1 strand of floss in the needle, I believe working cretan stitch will be best if you have at least 2 strands of floss, especially when you work leaves. Otherwise, it will a) take a really long time to fill a shape b) will be not as dimensional. Also, I would like to warn, that my way of working cretan stitch is slightly different from the ones you will find in many other resources. So be aware of that and maybe check out some other places to know which method suits you better. I start my cretan stitch leaves with a lazy daisy stitch on top of the shape. After that I make a stitch to one of the edges, coming back to the front right under the lazy daisy stitch (and making sure that the needle is inside the stitch). Repeating the same actions, but now on the other side of the leaf. And the needle appears right on the line of the “spine” again. So, here's how your cretan stitch can look like. As you see, you can give it a gentle curve of the central vein instead of keeping it perfectly straight. Naturally, you can make the filling more open if you wish. Also if you don't like the open space at the tip of the leaf, just make an additional straight stitch there and don't tell anyone :) So, this is the cretan stitch. A very fun and versatile technique suitable for many purposes. If you ran out of ideas how to give your embroidery leaves a new look – cretan stitch would be a great addition to your stitch library :) By the way, here's the Stitch Library with all the stitches covered so far.

The Chainless Crochet Foundation Stitch library can increase your speed and simultaneously make a chain plus the stitch in one fell swoop!

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Need a little help with a crochet stitch? Select the stitch from the list below and tap the title to access the stitch multiple, written instructions and tutorials.

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The last member of the line stitches family! Let's get it! I have to warn you, that Rope stitch might seem a little difficult when you try it the first time, because of the manipulation with the thread and how the loops form. But I will try to break it down as clear as possible with step by step pictures of the process. Also, what you might want to know beforehand, it actually belongs to the chain stitch family and basically a variation of a twisted chain stitch. If you've learned how to work twisted chain stitch, the rope one will be easy for you. And if you don't know, then congratulations! After you learn rope stitch, you can say you know twisted chain as well. I didn't include rope stitch to the chain stitch family in the Stitch Library only because of its look. It creates a look of a solid thick line, quite dimensional at that, so it really looks like a rope or a cord of sorts. Now, let's see how to work it. How to work Rope Stitch Take a threaded needle and come up through the fabric at point A, then bring the needle back to the fabric at point B and come up again at point C. Now, points A and B have to be really close to each other and the distance between them will decide on the width of the “rope”. Also, point B lies just a little further ahead of point A. As your needle emerges at point C, you have to wrap the thread around the shaft in the following way. Here are step by step pictures to make it clearer. You might also notice how point B is situated with regards to point A. Pull the needle through and as you do that, you will get a twisted chain stitch. Now you know how to work it, isn't it wonderful! What you do next is bring the needle down in the fabric at the point next to point B, but ahead of it, and come up through the fabric further ahead along the line. Here is a picture from a different angle. As you pull the needle through again, your stitches lie next to each other and already start forming a solid line. Later you will see how dimensional it really is compared to other stitches, but for now, let's just stick to working the line. Let's say you reached the end of the line. How do you finish it? Actually, I didn't see any particular tips on this moment except for ending it the same way as chain stitch. Which totally doesn't satisfy me. I mean, the stitch looks like a rope at the start, so it should look like a rope in the end as well – that's what I think. So if you just end the line by making a tiny anchoring stitch... You will end up with the “insides” of your rope coming out in the not prettiest of ways, like in the picture above... I personally don't like it. So, what I do is I make a simple straight stitch covering it all. And viola! Everything is hidden, and the look of the rope is consistent. Nothing gives away that it was worked using twisted chain stitch. To demonstrate how really thick and dimensional the line is, here is a comparison with stem stitch, which I worked using the same number of strands. Tips I used cotton embroidery floss for the rope stitch tutorial, but you might want to use pearl cotton (perle cotton) for it as well. Moreover, using it might grant your rope stitch a more textured look if that's what you like. Also, rope stitch is fit for stitching curves and waves, but the tight ones could be a struggle. As for the more open and wavy curves – rope stitch will take them well if you make the stitches slightly longer, that's all. Don't be scared to try this stitch, it is really not that difficult as it might seem. Just follow the pictures and you will soon get a handle on it! It is always fun to add some unusual stitches to your projects and make them more diverse :)

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If I had to pick an embroidery stitch that I have mixed feelings about, it’s the satin stitch. I love it – I consider it the Queen of Embroidery Stitches. It screams elegance. Refinement. Style. But on the other hand, there’s one thing I don’t like about it: sometimes, it’s a hard stitch to get ...

Do you want to join your yarn in a fast and secure way? Learn how to join yarn with the magic knot! Useful for both crocheters and knitters

Check out these helpful top stitching tips from National Sewing Circle to enhance your next sewing project

So, if you've been wanting to try big stitch quilt binding, consider trying this unique alternative to machine binding.

A camel stitch crochet tutorial with both photos & video. This unique stitch looks like knitting, and uses a special "3rd loop" technique!

Check out these helpful top stitching tips from National Sewing Circle to enhance your next sewing project

Like sewing tips? This sewing tutorial will focus on stretch thread for sewing. Learn all about types of stretchy sewing threads and how to use stretchy thread in your sewing projects.

I have the habit to keep leftover strands of split up embroidery floss in my storage box. This pile became a little mess and I wanted to do something with […]

The Invisible Slip Stitch and Chainless Starting Stitch eliminate the typical turning chain and slip stitch for a seamless, nearly invisible join, perfect for working STRIPES! See my original video on the Invisible Join method here. This technique is perfect for any project that requires joining at the end of the round, and is ideal […]

Using the long and short stitch and a few different methods and techniques, you'll be a pro at color blending in hand embroidery in no time.

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How to do a ladder stitch (also know as an invisible stitch or hidden stitch) step by step video tutorial. This tutorial is perfect for beginners!

Aujourd'hui je vous explique comment j'ai réalisé le Blouson de style bombers spécial printemps J'ai choisi un tissu bleu fleuri et une doublure en coton résolument plus rock pour trancher. Pour le patron je me suis servi d'un de mes pulls un peu large...

Heavy chain stitch is similar to regular chain stitch, except it creates a wider, thicker band for those times when you want to make a bold statement.

How many strands of embroidery floss should I use on my project? When you say one strand, you mean one strand of all six, right? Are you stitching with all six strands of floss, or are you stitching with just one? I get questions about stranded embroidery floss a lot – and especially the first ...

The photo above © Knitting HomeTunisian crochet is a special type of crochet that mixes crochet and knitting methods. You just need to repeat some steps to complete this pattern. This stitch is very e

The Hong Kong seam finish is an exquisite seam finish. Being a person originally from Hong Kong, I am not aware how this name came to be. In fact, if you mention Hong Kong seam finish in Hong Kong, I bet everyone will stare at you like you are speaking gibberish. I imagine you’d probably receive a similar […]

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Let's say that you've finally found the perfect pattern that you want to try to create. But there's a problem: the pattern is for knitting and you crochet. If this sounds like a problem you've had, don't worry. We've done the research to explain how to convert a knitting pattern to crochet. Follow these steps […]

Learn how to make the beautiful crochet elastic stitch. I love this stitch because of the rich texture and the elegance of it being double sided!