Hand Embroidery Letters: Simple Stitches and Tips for Beginners
If you’re a beginner and you’re looking to learn how to embroider letters by hand, this post is perfect for you! Lettering can be challenging to get right. You’ll want to use stitches that are easy to stitch fine lines with, so I’ve picked 4 beginner friendly stitches to show you that work great for lettering.
Stitches For Embroidering Letters
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There are 4 different embroidery stitches I use the most frequently to embroider letters. These stitches are all considered to be outline stitches, which means they are great for fine lines and lettering.
- back stitch
- split stitch
- chain stitch
- stem stitch
For the letters pictured in this post I am using stranded cotton floss. For practicing, I highly recommend DMC’s 6 strand cotton floss or pearl floss as well as a sturdy, even weave fabric such as cotton or linen.
A Few Tips for Embroidering Letters By Hand
- When working curves, shorten the length of your stitches.
- Mark the lettering on the fabric before stitching so you have a nice guide to go by.
- For finer lines, use fewer strands (i.e. 2-3 strands) of embroidery floss.
Stitch Direction And Order
When most people write letters, they crossover certain lines more than once. However, you don’t need to do this when you’re embroidering them; each line should be stitched along once.
The order in which you fill in the lines isn’t super important, but it will be easier to fill in a letter towards additional areas that will need to be stitched. This will prevent you from having to trail the thread long distances along the back of the embroidery, which can sometimes show through to the front.
For example, to stitch a letter P:
- Start at the base of the straight line and stitch up to the very top.
- Then start another line of stitches and stitch the curved line starting at the very top of the letter and ending against the straight line.
Most letters (besides O or some cursive letters) will be made up of several lines of stitches. A good rule of thumb is to start and end the stitches at every sharp point or angle. This will help define the letters more and they will have a neater appearance.
For example, to stitch the letter K:
- start by stitching along the vertical line.
- Tie off the line of stitches and then start a new thread at the very end of one of the diagonal lines, stitching towards the center of the letter.
- Stop when you get to where the two lines converge.
- Then start a new line of stitches for the next diagonal line. This way, the ends of the stitches will meet at the point where the 2 diagonal lines converge.
Back Stitch Letters
The back stitch is my go-to when I embroider letters, and I find it’s the easiest to learn. If you aren’t familiar with it, you can learn how to do a back stitch here.
One tip to make this stitch look nice is to make sure you aren’t skipping spaces between stitches. You should try to keep each stitch lined up directly against the last stitch you made and not come up to the side of it. When working on curves, shorten the stitch length. All of these things will help keep the lettering looking smooth.
Split Stitch Letters
The split stitch creates a bolder, textured line for letters. Learn the split stitch.
When working this stitch, try to use an even number of strands of floss since you’ll be splitting them down the middle. Also, try to take your time and make sure the stitch you are about to split is laying nicely where you want it. This stitch can appear a big jagged sometimes, but with practice and patience, you’ll get it!
Want to learn even more embroidery stitches?
This workbook is NOT your usual stitch encyclopedia. Most embroidery books don’t actually show you how you can use each embroidery stitch and they also don’t come with many tips. This workbook is packed full of helpful information to make you a better, more confident stitcher.
It comes with:
- embroidery stitch tutorials
- helpful tips for each stitch that will maximize your learning and improve the way your embroidery looks
- fun, modern embroidery patterns you can use to learn the stitches with ease
Chain Stitch Letters
Using the chain stitch for lettering creates a beautiful texture! Learn how to do a chain stitch.
I find it easiest to use 2 or 3 strands when working this stitch for letters because using all six can lead to the lettering being extra thick and less defined.
Stem Stitch Letters
This stitch is by far the most challenging to use for letters. It can easily appear jagged and not smooth. But when it’s done right, it has a rope-like appearance. Learn the stem stitch.
Make sure you are keeping your working thread to the same side the whole time you are working this stitch. Otherwise, the stitch won’t turn out like it’s supposed to!
Once you get the hang of how to embroider letters by hand, check out The Spruce Crafts free monogram alphabet patterns and put your skills to the test! Or check out my tutorial on how to design and stitch floral alphabet letters.
Stitches For Thick Letters
Thick letters look beautiful when they’re outlined or filled in with embroidery stitches.
Filling Stitch Ideas
To fill in thicker letters, there are so many great fill stitches to use. The satin stitch and the long and short stitch are my two favorites.
- The satin stitch is usually best worked across the narrower side of the lettering. Use it to fill in solid colors for a smooth and neat appearance.
- The long and short stitch can be worked in any direction. It’s great to blend colors together, so you could use this stitch to add a color gradient to the letters.
These are just 2 examples of many. Another unconventional and beautiful way to fill in a monogram letter is to fill it in with flowers. Check out this post with some step by step examples for embroidering block letters.
Outlining Thick Letters
All of the outline stitches featured above for thin letters will also work great for outlining thicker letters. Use them to outline the letters or to finish the edges of lettering that’s filled in.
Using a combination of outline and fill stitches will give you the opportunity to add more texture and a neat finish to the lettering. You can also play around with using contrasting colors to really make things pop.
Embroidery Patterns for Letters
FAQs
The easiest stitch to use for letters is the back stitch. Other outlines stitches like the stem stitch, split stitch, and chain stitch also work well.
Thick letters are best achieved by using some sort of fill stitch, such as the satin stitch, brick stitch, or long and short stitch. However, there are plenty of other stitches that work nicely. For example, you can easily fill in thicker letters with side-by-side rows of chain stitches or split stitches.
Embroidering letters is generally pretty easy and can be done using a few basic stitches. The most challenging part of stitching them is usually keeping the stitches smooth and even especially around curves.
For letters that are smaller in size, it’s helpful to use a smaller needle and less strands of embroidery floss. Choose a stitch that isn’t super thick or bulky, such as the back stitch or split stitch and try to keep your stitches as short and even as possible.
More Tutorials
Amanda is a hand embroidery teacher and artist. With over 15 years of experience in the craft industry and embroidery, she owns and runs Crewel Ghoul, sharing accessible tutorials and patterns to help inspire fellow crafters to get creative. In addition to running this website, she teaches on Skillshare and Youtube.
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