Buttonhole stitch and the related blanket stitch are hand-
sewing stitch
Stitch, Stitches or Stitched may refer to:
Medical uses
*Stitch, a surgical suture, a medical device used to hold body tissues together after an injury or surgery
** Cervical cerclage, also known as a cervical stitch
*Husband stitch, a purported ...
es used in
tailoring,
embroidery, and
needle lace-making.
Applications
Traditionally, this stitch has been used to secure the edges of buttonholes.
In addition to reinforcing
buttonhole
Buttonholes are reinforced holes in fabric that buttons pass through, allowing one piece of fabric to be secured to another. The raw edges of a buttonhole are usually finished with stitching. This may be done either by hand or by a sewing machine. ...
s and preventing cut fabric from raveling, buttonhole stitches are used to make stems in
crewel embroidery, to make sewn eyelets, to attach
applique to ground fabric, and as
couching stitches.
Buttonhole stitch scallops, usually raised or padded by rows of straight or
chain stitches, were a popular edging in the 19th century. Buttonhole stitches are also used in
cutwork, including
Broderie Anglaise
Broderie anglaise (French, "English embroidery", ) is a whitework needlework technique incorporating features of embroidery, cutwork and needle lace that became associated with England, due to its popularity there in the 19th century.
History ...
, and form the basis for many forms of
needlelace. This stitch is well represented on 16th- and 17th-century whitework items. The buttonhole stitch appeared on the Jane Bostocke sampler (1598) which is the earliest, signed sampler known to date and is presently housed in the
Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Variants
Examples of buttonhole or blanket stitches include:
*Blanket stitch
*Buttonhole stitch
*Closed buttonhole stitch, in which the tops of the stitch touch to form triangles
Image:Detached buttonhole stitch.gif, Detached buttonhole stitch
Image:Tailors buttonhole stitch.jpg, Tailor's buttonhole stitch
Image:Buttonhole variations.jpg, Buttonhole stitch variations
Image:Buttonhole shading.gif, Buttonhole shading
See also
*
Embroidery stitch
References
Other References
*Virginia Churchill Bath, ''Needlework in America'', Viking Press, 1979
*S.F.A. Caulfield and B.C. Saward, ''The Dictionary of Needlework'', 1885.
*Mrs. Archibald Christie. ''Samplers and Stitches, a handbook of the embroiderer's art'', London 1920, 1989 facsimile: Batsford, .
External links
*
{{sewing
Embroidery stitches
Sewing stitches