Rope stitch is probably the most rich looking embroidery stitch of this family. It follows a series of closed up twisted chain stitches to form an embossed rope look.
You need to know the twisted chain stitch to be able to do the rope stitch. I will demonstrate this on a curved stitch line.
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| Fig 1: Make a twisted chain stitch loop with the first point A on the stitch line. Now, put the needle in through D and bring it slightly out through E, which lies ON the stitch line. This is a similar pattern we follow for twisted chain stitch. The only difference here is that D falls just above B instead of near C. This helps to close up the spaces between each stitch to give that embossed rich look. |
Fig 2: Loop the thread around as we would usually for a twisted chain stitch. Pull the needle out. Continue this procedure. |
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| Fig 3: Note that when you do the curves, the stitches will get longer. This is to compensate for the curves. | Fig 4: As you end the curve, the stitches will fall back to its normal or shorter stitches. | |
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| Fig 5: A finshed curve of a rope stitch would look like this. | ||
Tags: embroidery tutorial, hand embroidery, rope stitch, twisted chain stitch
beautiful i love it
Dear sweet angels,
This stitch happens to be one of my favourites. I just love the way it looks on embroidery.
hi sarah,
i love ur stitches n i ve a doubt, wat type of thread u ve used in rope stitch???
Dear Bhuvana,
I have used perle cotton to do this stitch.
hi sarah,
thank u for ur reply….
Hi Sarah,
ur crystal clear tutorials pave me the way to this wonderful world of hand embroidery.
Thank u soo much !
keep going.
Raji.
Hi Sarah
I have some doubts abt this stitch.
1. Is twisted chain stitch sewed only once ie as the base?
2. Must we go for the twisted chain stitch after every time the previous stitch is done (Twisted stitch, and looping)?
Dear Sowmya,
The twisted chain is not sewn only once, but every time.
The only thing that differs in this stitch and the twisted chain stitch is the way we position the needle (fig 1: points D and E) for every next stitch. You can rather say that rope stitch is a ‘closed’ version of the twisted chain stitch.
Hope this has cleared your doubt.
Hi Sarah…
Yeah, got you…
Thank you
Sowmya. S
gr8 work…
hi sarah
Your tutorial is very nice and clearly explained. It is very useful to beginners
Thank you for this tutorials. I wish all the best..
Jayalakshmi
Kerala
Hi sarah,
My finished rope looks nothing like yours. I have to admit that it is not as easy as it looks. Perhaps using two strands of embroidery thread was not enough to give the embossed look. Like someone else mentioned even I had a doubt as to how the repeat is to be done. And i think I did not do the twisted chain after the first time. will try again. Love your site. Has made me take up hand embroidery after a long time.
Dear Sobana,
Try using all the six strands for this stitch to give an obvious look. In the illustration, I have used perle cotton. Then, of course, practice will help.