Stitch Leaf: Fishbone Stitch

Stitch leaves using the Fishbone Stitch

The Fishbone Stitch is a fantastic and a popular stitch to make leaf-shaped fillings. These Ash Tree inspired leaves are tapering on both ends and were great to work the Fishbone Stitch on. I used bright Autumn colors in three subtly different shades.

Fig 1: Get your fabric, hoop, and threads ready.	Fig 2: First, outline the leaves with the Running Stitch. This is optional.
Fig 3: Start the Fishbone Stitch from the top tapering end of the leaf. The stitches should fall just outside the Running Stitch.	Fig 4: Make sure the ‘V’ shape or the ‘angle’ of the stitch is maintained.
Fig 5: I used three, subtly different shades of the color to make the leaves.	Fig 6: The leaves look like this. The stem was added using the Stem Stitch.

TIPS to make your leaf beautiful:

1. Use the Running Stitch to make an outline of the leaf. This will help in keeping the edges clean. It is not necessary, though.
2. If you find the edges not coming out clean, use the same colored thread to make an outline around the leaf using Back Stitch or Stem Stitch. A bit of contrast can also be added by using dark thread for the outline.