The 5 Best Embroidery Stitches For Outlining

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Here are the 5 best embroidery stitches for outlining that are easy to learn and have a neat and clean appearance. All of these stitches are ideal for outlining shapes or for stitching words and letters.

If you’d like to follow along with this tutorial and practice these stitches, I have made a free stitch sampler pattern that is available for download. Let’s get started!

Back Stitch

The back stitch is one of the most simple and commonly used embroidery outline stitches for outlines. It creates a smooth, even line, and it is easy to use for straight or curved lines. The basic back stitch is the foundation for many other decorative stitches in the back stitch family that you can also use to outline shapes with.

1. Make a small stitch along a marked line.
2. Skip ahead one stitch length and come up through the fabric with needle and thread.
3. Make a stitch back towards the end of the first stitch.
4. Skip a stitch length ahead. Repeat steps 3 and 4 the desired length.

Variations

• single or double threaded back stitch
• Pekinese stitch
• whipped back stitch

Learn some of these variations of the back stitch.

Tips for making smooth, even stitches

• Focus on making the length of each stitch the same when working this stitch.
• When working around curves, this stitch will appear smoother when the stitch length is shorter.
• Use more or less strands of 6 strand cotton floss to control the thickness of this stitch
• This stitch works well and looks great when worked with Pearl cotton (2-ply twisted) thread.

30+ Embroidery Stitches

Learn over 30 hand embroidery stitches with step by step photos and instructions as well as some extra helpful tips sprinkled in so you can perfect them even more.

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Stem Stitch

The stem stitch is another great embroidery stitch to use for outlines. It has a twisted rope-like appearance, and it’s great to use in decorative borders or (as the name references) for flower stems. It can be a bit trickier to stitch around curves, but when stitched attentively and with care, it can make beautiful outlines.

1. Make a small straight stitch along a marked line.
2. Pull the working thread, leaving a small loop (off to the left side when working top to bottom). Place your needle up through the fabric in the center of the stitch.
3. Pull the working thread tight and move a stitch length ahead along the line.
4. Pull the thread, leaving a small loop off to the side. This time, come up with needle and thread directly below the stitch above. Repeat steps 3 and 4 the desired length.

Stem Stitch Tips

• Mark the fabric and make sure that your stitches follow the outline closely so that the stitches lay nicely.
• Avoid making stem stitches too long. (Longer stitches will appear jagged on curved lines.)
• This stitch looks great with stranded cotton floss, but it looks even more like a rope when used with Pearl cotton thread.

Split Stitch

The split stitch has a slightly thicker appearance than the stem stitch or back stitch. It is worked similarly to a stem stitch, except the needle emerges through the thread, splitting each stitch.

1. Make a small stitch along the marked line.
2. Come up through the middle of the stitch with needle and thread.
3. Proceed a stitch length ahead.
4. Again, come up through the center of the stitch you just made with needle and thread. Repeat steps 3 and 4 the desired length.

Tips For The Split Stitch

• Works best to use divisible, stranded cotton floss.
• Use an even number of strands for a more even looking stitch.
• Shorten the length of the stitches around curves for a smoother appearance.

Chain Stitch

The chain stitch is one of my favorite embroidery stitches for outlining shapes and letters.

As the name implies, this stitch’s appearance looks similar to chain links. The stitches are looped and they are worked in rows. Similar to the back stitch, the basic chain stitch is the base for several different variations of stitches.

1. Come up along a marked line with needle and thread and back down in the same spot.
2. Pull the working thread until a small loop forms on the surface of the fabric. Place your needle a stitch length ahead along the line, catching the loop.
3. Pull the working thread to tighten the loop.
4. Go back down through the loop with needle and thread.
5. Pull the working thread until a small loop forms, again catching it with your needle. Repeat steps 3-5 desired length.
6. To end the stitch, make a small anchor stitch along the top of the last stitch.

Variations

• threaded chain stitch
• zigzag chain stitch
• magic chain stitch
• twisted chain stitch
• square chain stitch
• cable chain stitch
• heavy chain stitch
• coral stitch

You can check out some of these variations of the chain stitch here.

Tips

• For finer lines and lettering, it is easiest to use 2-3 strands of stranded floss.
• Keep the stitches short and even as you work this stitch
• Work this stitch in the same direction for a neater appearance. It can be obvious when rows of chain stitches are worked in the opposite direction of one another
• Always insert the needle back into the hole where the thread is surfacing to form a neat, closed “chain link”.

Running Stitch

The running stitch is a very familiar stitch to most people. It’s used a lot in hand sewing, Sashiko embroidery and quilting, but it also is a beautiful addition to any style of embroidery!

1. Make a single stitch along the marked line.
2. Skip ahead a stitch length and come up with needle and thread.
3. Make one single stitch along the marked line.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 the desired length.

Tips

• For lines that intersect, consider carefully planning where the ends of the stitches will be so they don’t come into contact with one another.
• Shorten up the length of the stitches along tight curves

Controlling The Thickness of Outlines

You can achieve different thicknesses of lines by using different quantities of thread or by using different thicknesses and textures of embroidery thread.

Play around with yarns, pearl cotton, and different amounts of stranded cotton thread to achieve different effects.

Additional Ideas For Using Outline Stitches

To add even more interesting textures and effects, consider combining different embroidery stitches together, stitch variations, (i.e. interlaced running stitch), varying the stitch length, or staggering lines of running stitches. You don’t have to stick to just one!

And that’s all of the basics! I definitely recommend you try out some of these outline stitches using the sampler pattern. You’ll stitch straight lines and curves and you’ll get to see some ways you can incorporate them into an embroidery.

I hope you had fun creating with me…until our threads cross again!

Learn Even More

• How To Embroider Straight Lines
• Outline or Fill First?

Amanda

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.