thumb|Bangladesh's [[Nakshi Kantha embroidery.]]
right|thumb|200px|An illustration of the buttonhole stitch.
In everyday language, a stitch in the context of embroidery or hand-sewing is defined as the movement of the embroidery needle from the back of the fibre to the front side and back to the back side. The thread stroke on the front side produced by this is also called stitch. In the context of embroidery, an embroidery stitch means one or more stitches that are always executed in the same way, forming a figure. Embroidery stitches are also called stitches for short.
Embroidery stitches are the smallest units in embroidery. Embroidery patterns are formed by doing many embroidery stitches, either all the same or different ones, either following a counting chart on paper, following a design painted on the fabric or even working freehand.
Common stitches
Embroidery uses various combinations of stitches. Each embroidery stitch has a special name to help identify it. These names vary from country to country and region to region. Some of the basic stitches of embroidery are running stitch, cross stitch, stem stitch, back stitch, satin stitch, chain stitch and blanket stitch. Stitches are categorized to stitch families based on the nature of the technique used to create the individual stitch. Some embroidery books will include name variations. Taken by themselves the stitches are mostly simple to execute, however when put together the results can be extremely complex.
Categorization of stitches will vary in stitch sampler books, and the breakdown of the stitches in the sections of the books may vary from those below.
Running stitches
Straight stitches pass through the fabric ground in a simple up and down motion, and for the most part moving in a single direction. These stitches can be executed in straight or curved lines, and work well for fine details. They can be used as the basis for some composite stitches, and can have a contrasting thread interlaced in them.
Chain stitches
thumb|150px|An illustration of chain stitching.
Chain stitches catch a loop of the thread on the surface of the fabric. In the simplest of the looped stitches, the chain stitch, the needle comes up from the back of the fabric and then the needle goes back into the same hole it came out of, pulling the loop of thread almost completely through to the back; but before the loop disappears, the needle come back up (a certain distance from the beginning stitch -the distance deciding the length of the stitch), passes through the loop and prevents it from being pulled completely to the back of the fabric. The needle then passes back to the back of the fabric through the second hole and begins the stitch again. Examples of chain stitches are:
- Chain stitch
- Lazy Daisy stitch, or detached chain. The loop stitch is held to the fabric at the wide end by a tiny tacking stitch.
- Spanish Chain or Zig-zag Chain
Buttonhole stitches
Buttonhole or blanket stitches also catch a loop of the thread on the surface of the fabric but the principal difference is that the needle does not return to the original hole to pass back to the back of the fabric. In the classic buttonhole stitch, the needle is returned to the back of the fabric at a right angle to the original start of the thread. The finished stitch in some ways resembles a letter "L" depending on the spacing of the stitches. For buttonholes the stitches are tightly packed together and for blanket edges they are more spaced out. The properties of this stitch make it ideal for preventing raveling of woven fabric. This stitch is also the basis for many forms of needle lace. Examples of buttonhole or blanket stitches.
- Blanket stitch
- Buttonhole stitch
- Closed buttonhole stitch, the tops of the stitch touch to form triangles
- Crossed buttonhole stitch, the tops of the stitch cross
- Buttonhole stitches combined with knots:
- Top Knotted Buttonhole stitch
- German Knotted Buttonhole stitch
- Tailor's buttonhole stitch
Feather stitches
Feather stitches can be used for a wide variety of purposes, including foliage, and branches borders, smocking, and crazy quilting. Most are looped stitches, worked alternatively from left to right. This stitch has come to represent an entire industry of pattern production and material supply for the craft person. The stitch is done by creating a line of diagonal stitches going in one direction, usually using the warp and weft of the fabric as a guide, then on the return journey crossing the diagonal in the other direction, creating an "x". True cross stitch has legs of equal length that cross in the center.