5 Basic Embroidery Stitches

I love basic embroidery stitches; they’re easy and accessible. Embroidery stitches for beginners are my favorites even as I’ve gained more experience hand sewing, because I find them the most relaxing! I’m collecting all the embroidery stitch videos in one spot that you can use when stitching my free embroidery patterns (like this “the Days are long but the years are short” design) or trying out one of the other designer’s patterns I’ve stitched (like this super popular lunar phase embroidery design).

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If you’re just starting out with embroidery or looking to upgrade your tools, check out my favorite hand embroidery tools to get started, in this post!

Embroidery pattern samplers are a great way to start embroidering!

If you are looking for embroidery project ideas, check out these other posts:

Basic embroidery stitches

I tend to search online for tutorials and videos as I need them (hopefully I’ll have my own videos to share sometime this year!) but if you’re more of a book learner, I had a lot of fun learning from the Mollie Makes Adorable Stitched Projects book; you can read my full embroidery book review here.

1- Running Stitch – If you sew clothes or quilts, this is similar to a basting stitch:

2- Back Stitch– One of the easiest to use, it creates strong seams or well defined outlines:

3- Satin Stitch- a simple way to fill in outline shapes:

4- French Knot– Great for eyes in faces and detail stitching:

5- Blanket Stitch– a secure and pretty way to finish seams or applique shapes on top of one another:

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