HOW TO
Backstitch
A simple little stitch that is a cinch to work! These short stitches are used in appliqué work for adding detail to your design, such as a smile on a face. It is a stitch that you can use in a design where you want the look of a machine stitch with that handmade touch. This stitch is also often used to make letters. Follow the diagram for needle and stitch placement. Come up at 1, down at 2, up at 3, down at 4, etc. Over the next pages we will take you through a step by step guide to some backstitch work on one of our designs “Florence the Fawn”.
First things first - Trace your design onto your fabric with a water soluble marker. If you fabric is a little thicker we suggest holding it up against a window.
Poke holes at each thread point - shown here in red. For larger detail work you may need several stitches in between points.
Here is what the design looks like from the back with the holes. The reason we do this is so you can see the guide holes while sewing.
We use two stands of thread - doubled over. This helps not to lose the needle and needing to re-thread (always annoying in the middle of a project) and also gives a thicker outline. The number of strands used can be changed for desired effect - use less strands for finer work etc.
Start at the back and pass the needle through the first hole. Leave a 8-10cm tail at the back.
Continue work your way around on the design
So now you have finished the detail work flip over your fabric.
You can tie these off with the tail to secure your thread
Cut the tails - leaving approx 0.5cm
Here is the detail from the font. You can see here that you are still able to see a small amount of blue from the first step.
Grab a small syringe fill with water.
Add a few drops to make the blue line wet and like magic the line will disappear. BAM! You have now finished detail using backstitch! YOU ROCK!
Any questions/feedback please contact Meredith + Jodie at cutsewlove@outlook.com Instagram @cutsewlove Facebook @cutsewloveau