In the

textile arts Textile arts are arts and crafts that use plant, animal, or synthetic fibers to construct practical or decorative objects. Textiles have been a fundamental part of human life since the beginning of civilization. The methods and materials u ...

, a stitch is a single turn or loop of thread, or yarn. Stitches are the fundamental elements of

sewing Sewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a sewing needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fab ...

knitting Knitting is a method by which yarn is manipulated to create a textile, or fabric. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done by hand or by machine. Knitting creates stitches: loops of yarn in a row, either flat or i ...

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 ...

crochet Crochet (; ) is a process of creating textiles by using a crochet hook to interlock loops of yarn, thread (yarn), thread, or strands of other materials. The name is derived from the French term ''crochet'', meaning 'hook'. Hooks can be made from ...

, and

needle lace Needle lace is a type of lace created using a needle and thread to stitch up hundreds of small stitches to form the lace itself. In its purest form, the only equipment and materials used are a needle, thread and scissors. The origins of need ...

-making, whether by hand or machine.Picken (1957), p. 322 A variety of stitches, each with one or more names, are used for specific purposes.

Sewing, embroidery, and lace

Examples include: *

Backstitch Backstitch or ''back stitch'' and its variants ''stem stitch'', ''outline stitch'' and ''split stitch'' are a class of embroidery and sewing stitches in which individual stitches are made backward to the general direction of sewing. In embroid ...

Overcast stitch Overcast stitch is a type of stitch used to enclose a raw, or unfinished, seam or edge. The purpose is to prevent unraveling of the fabric. Variations The hand overcast stitch involves small, evenly spaced diagonal stitches, binding the raw edge ...

Cross stitch Cross-stitch is a form of sewing and a popular form of counted-thread embroidery in which X-shaped stitches in a tiled, raster graphics, raster-like pattern are used to form a picture. The stitcher counts the threads on a piece of even-weave, ev ...

* Buttonhole or blanket stitch *

Chain stitch Chain stitch is a sewing and embroidery technique in which a series of looped stitches form a chain-like pattern. Chain stitch is an ancient craft – examples of surviving Chinese chain stitch embroidery worked in silk thread have been dated ...

* Knot stitch These stitches and their variations are named according to the position of the needle and direction of sewing (''running stitch'', ''backstitch''), the form or shape of the stitch (''chain stitch'', ''

feather stitch Featherstitch or feather stitch and Cretan stitch or faggoting stitch are embroidery techniques made of open, looped stitches worked alternately to the right and left of a central rib.Reader's Digest ''Complete Guide to Needlework''. The Reader' ...

'') or the purpose of the stitch ( tailor's tack, ''hem stitch'').''Reader's Digest'' (1976), pp. 122–143 Sewing machine stitches are classified by their structure: *Chain stitch, made with one thread *

Lockstitch A lockstitch is the most common mechanical stitch made by a sewing machine. The term "single needle stitching", often found on dress shirt labels, refers to lockstitch. Structure The lockstitch uses two threads, an upper and a lower. Locksti ...

, made with two threads *

Overlock An overlock is a kind of stitch that sews over the edge of one or two pieces of cloth for edging, hemming, or seaming. Usually an overlock sewing machine will cut the edges of the cloth as they are fed through (such machines being called se ...

, made with one to five threads *

Coverstitch A coverstitch is formed by two or more needles which add straight stitches to the fabric and a looper thread on the opposite side of the fabric that zig-zags between the straight stitches. A coverstitch results in parallel lines of straight stitc ...

, made with two or four threads (a twine) Fancy machine stitches mimic traditional hand stitches using variations on the basic stitches.

Knitting

In knitting, a stitch is a single loop of yarn, secured to the loops beside it to form a row or ''course'' of stitches and to the loops above and below it to form a ''wale''. In securing the previous stitch in a wale, the next stitch can pass through the previous loop either from below or above. If the former, the stitch is denoted as a knit stitch or a plain stitch; if the latter, as a purl stitch. The two stitches are related in that a knit stitch seen from one side of the fabric appears as a purl stitch on the other side.

Crochet

, stitches are made by pulling a loop of thread through the work with a

crochet hook A crochet hook (or crochet needle) is an implement used to make loops in thread or yarn and to interlock them into crochet stitches. It is a round shaft pointed on one end, with a lateral groove behind it. The point eases the insertion of the hook ...

. Crochet stitches are named based on their structure. In the English-speaking crochet world, basic stitches have different names that vary by country. The differences are usually referred to as UK/US or British/American.

Notes

References

* * {{sewing Textile arts Sewing