Stitch fun – heavy chain stitch Embroidery

Join the Stitch Fun …

… and finish a fabulous sampler in the next few weeks.

If this sounds like your kind of fun and you’d like to join in, here’s the starter information you need. Stitch Fun Sampler Start Guide.

Today’s stitch is …

Heavy chain stitch

This is also known as a braid stitch and can be used for straight and curved lines as well as for filling.

How to sew …

For your tour, draw a straight line next to the closed buttonhole stitches. It has to be a bit away, but not so far that there is a big gap!

Start at the top and sew a small straight stitch on the line. Pass your needle backwards.

Bring your needle back on the line with a stitch spacing of 3 …

Hold the needle on the surface, pass it through the vertical stitch that you started with, and then bring it around to form the chain loop. Pick up the needle at 3 again.

Pull the needle and thread back to form the first chain …

Now you will do exactly the same thing again – take out the needle directly under the first chain and return it to the same place as follows …

This is the first heavy chain (or double chain, as I call it). Now all you have to do is complete the line.

Align the needle a stitch length from the finished chain stitch on the line.

Pass the needle through (or under) the chain stitch you just completed and back in where you came up to create the single chain …

… And repeat the process to create the double chain as before, before you come out directly under this single chain – under the previous double chain and back where you came out.

Sew down in the same way to complete the line. The smaller the distance between the individual double chains, the chunkier your line looks, which is ideal for filling areas.

If you sew like me and leave a gap (so I can help you spot the stitch), you’ll still get a nice, chunky line that works great for letters or edges of designs.

I can’t wait to see your finished heavy chain stitch …

Have fun sewing!