Also known as: crewel stitch, stalk stitch, point de cable
Through my research, I found out that stem stitch is crewel stitch. It is one of the easiest to be done and perhaps even one of the first stitches to be taught to any beginner. But, many times, people often refer to embroidery work itself as crewel work, though the actual crewel stitch (stem stitch) is never as commonly employed in it! This creates a bit of a confusion on if crewel work consists of only crewel stitch (stem stitch).
Let us now get to the procedure. To make the logic clearer for stem stitch, I have drawn a temporary stitch line with a pencil. A stitch line is through which all stitches will be running. Now, note that all the stitch points in stem stitch will fall ON the stitch line. I will be working this stitch from left to right. This instruction is for right handed learners.
NOTE:
So, the unique feature of stem stitch is that, when you work from left to right, the needle will be brought out from the TOP of each previous stitch. In case you work from top to bottom, the needle and thread will come out through the RIGHT side of each previous stitch. This feature is what makes stem stitch unique from the others in its family. 
Tags: embroidery tutorials, hand embroidery tutorials, needle work, outline stitch, sloping stem stitch, split stem stitch, stalk stitch, stem stitch, stem stitch family, stem stitch variants
Very easy to learn.i just started to learn through your site.Thanks a lot for your good work. I have some doubts to ask !!!!
Dear Bhuvana,
Thankyou.
You can always bring your doubts to these pages, and I will try my best to clear them.
Hi Sarah,
Need samples and explanations for chicken work.If possible kindly add it to your site.
Hello Bhuvana,
Your request is welcome. Right now, I do not have any samples or tutorial ready for chicken work. A tutorial takes some time to be made, so not sure if I can put it up anytime soon, but will surely keep your request in mind and work towards it.
your tutorial about embroydery is very help me to doing my tesis , thank you very much.
Dear Dewi,
We are happy that our pages are helping you in your work. What is the topic of your thesis? I wish to have a copy of it once you are done with it.
If you are using our pages for any information, we kindly request you to mention our reference in your thesis and give due credit.
All best wishes!
I am all excited to start learning embroidery from ur tutorials…. ur blog is absolutely amazing and ends my search for good online tutorials..thanks for this blog!!! god bless u:-)
Dear Arefa,
We are happy that you find learnign form our pages would be interesting and good. Hope you enjoy your lessons.
DEAR MADAM….
THANKS FOR YOUR TUTORIALS…
PLZ PUBLISH THE TUTORIALS OF GUJRATI STICH, SHANTINIKATANI KATHA STICH, BHAGOLPURI KATHA STICH,AARI WORK
Dear Saraswati,
Many embroidery forms are still under construction. Since each of them takes a lot of researchadn effort to be made, time and patience is required.
Aari work is done using a special needle. I have made a tutorial where this work is reproduced using a simple embroidery needle. Check : http://www.embroidery.rocksea.org/hand-embroidery/zalakdozi/zalakdozi-tutorial/
never seen such dedicated site
u make it look easier…so beautifully
dear sarah,
i wanted to learn embroidery ,but dint know from where to begin with,,,i accidently happned to see ur site,,it helped me a lot,,, ur tutorial is simple and understantable,, good work!!!!thank u!
I did this piece in nested stem stitch…approx. 5×8 inches. Stitches are very close together to make solid fill. Several people have commented it looks done by machine.
Wow! Val, what a wonderful piece of work. I must agree to the other comments that it does not look hand made at all…so very neat and precise. Thanks for sharing this here.
may i know the type of needles and treads that you are using..?
by the way the site is vvvvv useful… i realy appreciate your effort…
I am so thrilled to find your site through Pintrest. I smock children’s clothes and always need a bit of help on the embroidery stitches that I come across every once in awhile.
Thank you so much for sharing!
hellllloooooo,And ummm i picked textiles for my options in gcses and this site really helped me with the stitches thankyou very much,but i want to know how to do the flower stitch can you please help me with that.? thanks very much….
Dear Sarah THANKS TO ALL I HAVE FOUND ALL OF MY FINDINGS JUST ONLY ON YOUR SITE THANKS AGAIN
I am so blessed to have found your website! I am working on embroidery as an embellishment to a quilt top and your tutorials are fabulous! Thank you, thank you,thank you!
hii sarah ..thnk for your tutorials…
Your tutorials are superb.i love them pls comment on my first small project
Dear Asna,
I liked the butterfly and the neat way you have done it. Are you still filling in the wings?
Thanks fro sharing your work with us. It will inspire many.