Holbein stitch is a simple, reversible line
embroidery
Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...
stitch most commonly used in
Blackwork embroidery
Blackwork, sometimes historically termed Spanish blackwork, is a form of embroidery generally worked in black thread, although other colours are also used on occasion, as in scarletwork, where the embroidery is worked in red thread. Originating ...
and
Assisi embroidery
Assisi embroidery is a form of counted-thread embroidery based on an ancient Italian needlework tradition in which the background is filled with embroidery stitches and the main motifs are outlined but not stitched. The name is derived from the It ...
. The stitch is named after
Hans Holbein the Younger
Hans Holbein the Younger ( , ; german: Hans Holbein der Jüngere; – between 7 October and 29 November 1543) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is considered o ...
(1497-1543), a 16th-century portrait painter best known for his paintings of
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
and his children, almost all of whom are depicted wearing clothing decorated with blackwork embroidery.
Although superficially similar to
Back Stitch the Holbein stitch produces a smoother line and a pattern that is identical on both sides of the fabric. It can be worked in straight lines, diagonally, or in a stepped fashion to make a zigzag line and is well suited to creating outlines or intricate filling patterns.
Holbein stitch is also known as ''double running stitch'', ''line stitch'', ''Spanish stitch'', ''Chiara stitch'' and ''two-sided line stitch''.
Description of the technique
Holbein stitch is usually worked on an
even-weave
A balanced fabric is one in which the ''warp'' and the ''weft'' are of the same size. In weaving, these are generally called "balanced plain weaves" or just "balanced weaves", while in embroidery the term "even-weave" is more common.
Balanced pl ...
fabric where the threads can be counted to ensure perfect regularity and is worked in two stages. Firstly, a row of evenly spaced
running stitch
The straight or running stitch is the basic stitch in hand-sewing and embroidery, on which all other forms of sewing are based. The stitch is worked by passing the needle in and out of the fabric at a regular distance. All other stitches are ...
es is worked along the line to be covered. Then the return journey is completed, filling in the spaces between stitches made on the first journey and sharing the same holes:
Modern Holbein techniques
In recent years Holbein stitch has become fashionable again, along with modern blackwork and modern Assisi embroidery. Formality has given way to a more light-hearted approach, and motifs include cute cats and other cartoon-style animals. Classic map samplers and chessboard designs have also been updated, and the use of colours is much more imaginative and daring.
Photo gallery
Image:BlackworkCat.jpg, Cat in Holbein stitch and cross stitch
Image:BlackworkChessboard.jpg, Modern chessboard in Holbein stitch
Image:BlackworkMap Derbyshire.jpg, Modern Holbein-stitched map of Derbyshire
Image:BlackworkSampler.jpg, Collection of motifs in Holbein stitch and metal thread
See also
*
Assisi embroidery
Assisi embroidery is a form of counted-thread embroidery based on an ancient Italian needlework tradition in which the background is filled with embroidery stitches and the main motifs are outlined but not stitched. The name is derived from the It ...
*
Blackwork embroidery
Blackwork, sometimes historically termed Spanish blackwork, is a form of embroidery generally worked in black thread, although other colours are also used on occasion, as in scarletwork, where the embroidery is worked in red thread. Originating ...
*
Counted-thread embroidery
Counted-thread embroidery is any embroidery in which the number of warp and weft yarns in a fabric are methodically counted out for each stitch, resulting in uniform-length stitches and a precise, uniform embroidery pattern. Even-weave fabric is ...
*
Embroidery 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 ...
es
References
* Eaton, Jan. ''Mary Thomas's Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches'', Revised by Jan Eaton. London: Hodder&Stoughton, 1989.
{{embroidery
Embroidery stitches