Stem Stitch

The Stem Stitch is a beautiful traditional embroidery stitch that creates smooth, gently twisted lines, making it especially useful for outlining shapes, forming graceful stems, and adding delicate details to floral designs. When worked with silk flosses, this versatile stitch takes on a lovely textured appearance, while silk flowers add dimension. It's a wonderful choice for creating flowing vines, curved branches, and decorative outlines in your needlework.

This intermediate silk ribbon embroidery course is designed for stitchers who have some experience with basic surface embroidery and would like to expand their skills. You'll enjoy step-by-step video lessons, along with helpful downloadable documents, including Stitching Basics. I'll show you how to work the Stem Stitch, control your ribbon's tension, and maintain a smooth, even appearance as you follow straight or curved lines.

By varying the length of your stitches, you can create delicate outlines or more prominent, textured stems. It's particularly lovely when combined with silk ribbon flowers and leaves, where it provides graceful connecting lines that bring the whole design together. With a little practice, you'll discover how useful this simple technique can be!

You don't need to know counted cross stitching on linen to enjoy this course. Silk ribbon embroidery allows you to work freely on the surface of your fabric without counting threads, giving you plenty of opportunities to experiment with colour, texture, and design.

Join me as we explore the Stem Stitch together, practising on a doodle cloth at your own pace. Enjoy learning this useful traditional stitch, and feel free to share your stitching progress and finished work on social media. I'd love to see what you create!