Chain Stitch is also known as
Tambour stitch [EN], Punto de cadeneta [ES], Point de chaînette [FR], Kettenstich [DE], Punto catenella [IT], Ponto cadeia [PT], kedjestygn [SV].
About the Chain Stitch
Chain Stitch is the basic and simplest stitch of the Chain Stitch family. It gives a chain like an appearance or, like petals lined up one after the other. Chain Stitch is one of the oldest known stitches that has been used widely among various cultures from Asia to Europe.
How to do the Chain Stitch
To assist our lessons, I will do this stitch from top to bottom. Generally, it follows left to the right path.
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| 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. |
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| 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). |
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| 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. |
Learn to do Chain Stitch in 2 minutes!
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So, what is the difference between the Chain Stitch and the Reverse Chain Stitch? Watch to learn more!
Use this stitch on a pattern
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Related Projects
Learn to use this stitch on a beautiful Indian Embroidery from Kashmir. Let’s make something beautiful today.
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Zalakdozi
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Sarah has been researching and sharing hand embroidery lessons for over 17 years, making it accessible to everyone around the globe.
I started hand embroidery and very much interested your tutorials
How pretty! I love the pattern! Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
Thank you for the reply
Thank you for this tutorial, and for including the video. I find it easier to learn by seeing someone actually doing the stitch, than to just read instructions. I will definitely try out this stitch soon.
Dear Sarah ma’am
For my personal project I decided to learn basic stitches of hand embroidery. I applied the stitches on my outfit. It was an amazing experience. I enjoyed a lot while I was stitching. Your guidance on your website and your channel has helped me a lot to achieve my learning goal. Which was to learn basic stitches of hand embroidery. Thank you so much.
Dear Palak, thank you so much for sharing your work here. It is an inspiration! I loved the way you applied the embroidery to this beautiful attire. The colors are pretty. We are so happy that you enjoyed stitching and learning from our pages. Means a lot. Keep sharing your work whenever you create something. We would love to see it. 🙂
Dear Sarah ma’am
I am Palak and I’m a student of MYP – 5 (class 10th) For my personal project I have chosen hand embroidery and my learning goal is to learn 5 to 6 techniques of embroidery which are back stitch, running stitch, chain stitch, french knot, cross stitch and fly stitch. I will apply these stitches on my product which is an outfit made by me for myself. The outfit is a lehenga and a blouse. And ma’am on the lehenga I have done the bording part and there I have used cross stitch and chain stitch but in the end, when I end my stitching I noticed that the whole border was looking good but the stitches were tight. And now the whole design is done so I can’t remove the stitches. Ma’am I wanted your opinion like what can I do from which my stitches don’t look tight.
Thank you.
Hi,
How many threads shall I use for this stitch? I can do the stitches quite well but my weak point is knowing how many threads to use and also separating them!
Hi! Three strands work good for this stitch. Try not to elongate the stitch too much.
To know more about how to separate the strands, check this link: https://www.embroidery.rocksea.org/reference/for-hand-embroidery-beginners/handling-embroidery-thread/
I hope this helps. ☺️
Wow!
Awesome
dear Sarah,
I have to make an evening clutch bag for a competition. The front of the bag must be completely filled with Indian chain stitch. Can you maybe direct me to a website where I can learn more on the subject, as well as obtain designs for the embroidery?
thanks
vicky
Wonderful, Riswana. Thanks for sharing.😊
its chain stitch done by myself……………………:)
Thanks Riswana for submitting your work. By the way, is it a part of your course work or something?
thank you for posting such easy to follow instructions. I have always wanted to learn embroidery and these tutorials are helping greatly.
I still can’t explain how petrified I was of learning stitching.
It was something that was made mandatory by our school for us to learn…I had given up all hopes of learning this great art..seemed so formidable at the first glance…….well not now….I seriously can’t find any other place than this site of yours that could arise in me a fondness for learning stitching ..I luv you Sarah and because of you I love stitching
A lot of thnx from me and my mom…..I’m sure my granny would be very happy when I would show her my first stitching piece which wouldn’t have been possible without you
Dear Kavya,
Thanks for writing to us. It is great to learn how you are enjoying stitching. Please do share some of your works, that you might be showing your granny, with us. It will be nice to see. 🙂
Thank you for sharing. I’m going to build a stitch sampler to start using embroidery with my beading. I just wanted to sky how do you get the chains all the same size mine come out all different and skewed.
good one
This stitch comes under chain or feather stitch family? It is named as chained feather stitch. This has been not taught in your tutorial.
Hi Sarah!
Its very nice. All the stitches are like to see very much…
Actually i had an doute what kind of thread v can use for the embroidery, is woollen thread orelse normal machine thread.Pls reply.
Hello sarah,
I want to copy all the stiches on the right side in this website for easy reference. Is there an option to download all at one stretch? can you send / mail me the stiches if possible?
Thanks,
Jayanthi..
HEY! Thanks for that comment ! Much appreciated !!
I am now working on another piece ….and would like some help. It’s a design of a bird on a tree. I am stuck on which stitches to use for the bird…what colours etc. Right now am doing the flowers in long and short stitch. Once that is done ..I will upload the pic so that u can help me with what stitches to use for the bird.
Thanks in advance,
Rinku
HEY SARAH! I was going through your lovely website and I must commend you on a wonderful job. The explanations are very simple and to the point. I wish you all the very best in the future and hope you continue to do th elovely work.
I have recently finished a floral design in chain stitch and since you are so good at your work I would like your opinion on it. Am posting it after this mail.
Lots of best wishes,
Rinku
Dear Rinku,
What an awesome piece of work! 🙂 Congratulations.
It is so finely done, I must say, it looks less like chain stitch.
Hi Rinku,
We are working on an E book with illustrated tutorials of 200 and more stitches. We want to feature some samples from our readers as well. Your work and picture looks really nice. If it is okay with you, we would like to consider using the image you have uploaded in this page to feature in our E book. All due credits will be given. Please let us know.
Also, if possible can you take another picture of this piece of work and send it to us in high resolution?
Best regards,
Sarah
hmmm, its nice thank u so much i will upload my dress soon , this tutorial help me allot thank u so much , and love U
it is very nice…………
Thank you sarah for response and compliment,
There are lot of sample on zardozi and other craft,and our organization also take workshop in like N.I.D.,N.I.F.T.,and many fashion institute.I want to send you a brief profile and samples of our organizition.
can you give me your email-id and our email-id is as mentioned below…
E-mail: ramshamahila@yahoo.com
Dear Shahidhusain,
It is nice to know about your organisation. Thanks for sending a sample. It is a nice piece of work.
I would like to know more about it, and also, how I might help or participate in your organisation.
Hi,Sarah,
This is one of sample of craft design of our organization.
Sara
My new work on chain stitch is here
I have written a post about that in my blog here:
shamiatcraft.blogspot.in/2012/08/chain-stitch-blouse-neck-design.
🙂 nicely done.
Hi,sarah,your embrodery work experience is very nice.
There is our organization which is worked from 2003 on hand embrodery and other many crafts named ‘Ramsha mahila vividhlakshi audhyogik sahkari mandli Ltd.’The crux of its is to help craftspeople, especially women, to use their own traditional craft skills as a means of employment, income generation and economic self-sufficiency.
warm regards…
plz response us…..
Thanks so much for this tutorial. I don’t know what it is but I could NOT figure out this stitch until I came across your instructions! I got it now. 🙂
Sara
I have worked one more blouse neck with chain stitch. Have a look.
It was in my blog.
http://shamiatcraft.blogspot.in/2012/06/chain-stitch-blouse-neck.html
Thanks for all u’r tutorials. It has been a great teacher to me.
Shami Immanuel
wow! this is a very neatly done work, Shami. 🙂
nice website.
This is a bed sheet and i use on it lazy dazy stich,chain stich and backward stich.
Dear Sam,
Can you upload the picture of your work again, as it looks like it was not really uploaded.
Sara,
I have tried a neck design in my blouse using the chain stitch and I have fixed stones in it. Plz do have a look and comment on it. The link is [here]
Shami Immanuel.
Dear Shami,
I liked the way you used sequins to add effect to the chain stitch. It is nicely done. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Hello: I would like to know how to do the Danish picot buttonhole edge. I like to do challenging stitches. It is from the pattern White Oval Doily Set on page 34 of The Big Book of Small Doilies. I hve been on the web site and your chain stitch is all that I can find. I do hope you can assist me in some way so that I can start the pattern. Thank you . June
Dear June,
First of all, I appologize for a late response. Had been keeping busy with some travels and a few students.
Have you already found out how to do Danish picot buttonhole edge? I am not sure myself of this stitch and if it has any alternate name. So, I did a little research and highly doubt if what you are looking for is either the ‘detached buttonhole stitch’ or the ‘bullion picot’. The detached buttonhole stitch uses buttonhole stitch with chain stitches made over it without touching the fabric. The bullion picot is made by making a small bullion knots in course of the buttonhole stitch.
I do not have the tutorials of either ready right now, so you can check for their instructions from any other source or website and try to match it with the description in doilies book. Hope this helps you a bit.
Best wishes.
When looking for how to do danish picot buttonhole edge on a hardanger project, I could not find this stitch anywhere online. I did, however, find the instructions in The Big Book of Small Doilies. This is a chain stitch that is not attached to the fabric. Making sure to not go through the fabric, (1) make a chain stitch around the bar of the last buttonhole stitch; (2) make a second chain stitch in the first chain stitch so you now have a string of two chain stitches; (3) make a third chain stitch around the bar of the last buttonhole stitch just like you did in step 1; then finish by holding the stitches in place with your thumbnail and pull gently to complete. You can then continue with next buttonhole stitch (picture 4).
File: DANISHPICOTBUTTONHOLEEDGE.docx
yes, I would be mentioning the zig zag chain stitch in the coming lessons. 🙂 Wont take too long before it shows up in the list.
This is one of the most appealing stitch patterns….i love the’zig-zag’ chain stitch the most…me and mom had worked on a saree using this pattern…i hope u will speak briefly about that pattern here…:)