The Easiest Magic Chain Stitch Embroidery Tutorial
Have you ever heard of a magic chain stitch? This stitch is achieved by threading two contrasting colors onto a single needle and the chain stitches are made in alternating colors. You may be thinking: that doesn’t make any sense; how does this work? It will become clear in a few minutes after I show you how!
Getting Started
For this tutorial, I chose some orange and yellow stranded embroidery floss. I used 3 strands of each.
It’s helpful to place the hoop in an embroidery stand so you can have both of your hands free to work this stitch.
Magic Chain Stitch Tutorial
Thread the needle with 2 different thread colors.
Begin by running your finger through the thread to flatten and untwist it. This will make working this stitch a lot easier.
Start this stitch by going up through the fabric similar to how you would work a regular chain stitch.
Go back down where you came up, leaving a small loop. This is where things begin to be a little bit different than a regular chain stitch.
Take your needle and separate the two different colors from one another.
Now when you go up through the fabric, go up through only one of the loops.
Pull the thread through. A small stitch should form and the other color should begin to pull through to the back of the fabric. You may have to pull the thread a little bit to fully pull it through the fabric.
Then for the next stitch you’ll repeat these steps, but this time you’ll catch the loop of the opposite color.
Once you get a few stitches in, you’ll notice that the strands will become slightly uneven: the thread color that you didn’t use last will become a little bit longer. You can use this to your advantage: instead of adjusting your needle, allow the threads to be uneven as you stitch. This will make it way easier to separate the two colors from one another.
And here is the finished lines of stitches!
As you stitch, the thread may start to twist up on itself. All you need to do is let your needle dangle and untwist. This will make it a lot easier to separate out the individual colors and will help prevent any tangles from happening.
As with any new technique, it may take a few times to get the hang of it, so don’t give up if you feel like it’s a bit tricky at first. I think you’ll be surprised with how fun this stitch is once it really “clicks”. Give it a try and see what you think!
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.
