Lesson 6:

Basic Hand
Stitches
Hand stitches have many uses. Before
the sewing machine, garment-making
was done exclusively by hand.
 Running Stitch
- It is also called a straight stitch.
- It is the basic stitch in hand-sewing and
embroidery, on which all other forms of sewing
are based.
­- The stitch is worked by passing the needle in
and out of the fabric.
- It is very closely related to basting stitch, but
stitches are smaller and usually permanent.
 Outline Stitch
- This stitch is used to mark outlines in an
embroidery pattern.
- It is a flexible stitch that can follow easy
curves.
Fig 1: Bring out the thread through A and take it in
through B. Take the needle backward and bring the
thread out through C. Make sure the point C lies
under the stitch A-B.
Fig 2: You need to note that the point C lies about
halfway through A and B. Also note that C lies
under the stitch A-B.
Fig 3: Take the needle in through D. Try to mark D in
such a way that the point B will lie halfway through
C-D. Bring the needle out through B. The stitch point
B will be at the bottom of the previous stitch.
 Back Stitch
- It is a very strong, secure stitch.
-  In embroidery, these stitches form lines and are
most often used to outline shapes and to add fine
detail to an embroidered picture.
- It is also used to embroider lettering.
- It is a utility stitch which strongly and
permanently attaches two pieces of fabric.
Fig 1: Bring the thread through A and take it in
through B. This creates one stitch.
Fig 2: Bring the thread through C and take it in
through B. This way, we are creating a stich by
taking the thread backward.
Fig 3: Bring the thread through D and take it in
through C. Continue this pattern to finish the
design.
 Catch stitch
- It is worked from left to right from one edge of
the fabric to another creating an X-like
formation.
- It is a zig-zagged stitch that helps to prevent
your fabric from fraying along the edges. 
- This is used for a flat finish next to fabric, such
as seam binding on a hem.
Step 1.Working from left to right, insert the needle
into the fold of the hem, between the layers so the
knot is trapped inside the fold. Come out with the
needle a little bit below the fold of the hem. For this
example I folded the hem a 1/2″ and then another 1
1/2″.
Step 2:
Pull the thread out of the hole so the knot is firmly
placed on the inside of the hem and the thread is
pulled taut.
Step 3:
Insert the needle just above the fold of the hem to
the right of the thread on the hem, moving from
right to left. Only catch a little bit of the fabric so a
very tiny dot of thread is left on the right side of the
garment.
Step 4:
Pull the needle through so the threads are going
from the hem to the fabric at an angle to the right
Step 5:
Reinsert the needle into the hem, parallel to the first
stitch on the hem, catching only the hem and not
going through the garment fabric.
 Chain Stitch
- It is a sewing and embroidery technique in which
a series of looped stitches form a chain-like
pattern. 
- Chain stitch is an ancient craft – examples of
surviving Chinese chain stitch embroidery
worked in silk thread have been dated to the
Warring States period.
Fig 1: Bring the thread out through A. Put the
needle back in A and bring it out through point B,
but don’t pull the needle out completely.
Fig 2: Now, take the thread around the needle from
left to right to form a loop.
Fig 3: Pull out the needle now to tighten the loop
and you will get the first part of the chain.
Fig 4: Now, put the needle in through B (now
inside the loop) and bring it out on C (outside of the
loop).
Fig 5: Continue the action by taking the thread
around the back of the needle from left to right to
form a loop and pull out the needle to get the next
loop of the chain. Keep on with this procedure till
the finish.