Also known as : Tete de la Boeuf, Head of the Bull Stitch
This stitch is one of the few stand alone stitches of the chain stitch family. The name tells us that the stitch resembles the head of a bull. This stitch is often confused with detached wheatear stitch, since they look a lot like each other. But, there is a small difference in the way both are worked. The difference lies in the way the ‘horns’ of the bull is made.
You need to know the lazy daisy stitch to be able to do this stitch.
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| Fig 1: We start by making the horns of the bull. So, bring out the needle through A and put it in through B. Continue to bring the needle out through C, which lies at a 90 degrees angle from A and B. Note that the thread lies below the needle causing it to bend to a ‘V’ shape. | Fig 2: We now proceed to make the face of the bull using a lazy daisy stitch. So, pull out the thread from C. Put the needle again through C and bring it out from D, which lies straight below C. Now, loop the thread around the needle as shown to make the lazy daisy stitch. | |
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Fig 3: Anchor up the lazy daisy as shown and finish the bulls head. Note that the lazy daisy stitch is done over the bent thread. Keep this in mind while you go through the detached wheatear stitch. It will help you to understand the difference between both.  |
Tags: detached chain stitch, detached wheatear stitch, embroidery tutorial, hand embroidery, head of the Bull Stitch, lazy daisy, tete de la Boeuf, tulip stitch, wheatear stitch
All these are wonderful. i knew how to do some of them but didn’t know their names. My grandmother and mother were great teachers when it came to needlework. Now I can learn even more from you. Thanks.
Dear Jenny,
Wonderful!!!
I was finding it difficult to collect all these from different magazines and storing it.
Many thanks
Looking for more new ideas.
Dear Sinu,
Happy that you are finding our pages easy to learn from.