Rice Stitch

rice_stitch

Rice Stitch is also known as

Seeding Stitch / Seed Stitch [EN], Point de Sable [FR], Reisstich [DE], Punto Seme [IT], Ponto de Areia [PT].


How to do the Rice Stitch

This stitch is just a chaos of single straight stitches used to fill patterns. Unlike how I show in the Seed Stitch, it does not follow any straight line or pattern. It looks like strewn rice grains over the ground, which probably contributed to its name.

Fig 1: Make a Straight Stitch…a small one.Fig 2: Next, make another Straight Stitch next to it at a random angle.
Fig 3: Keep making these stitches at random angles. Space it as best as possible. Keep the stitches as regular as you can.Fig 4: Here is a patch of Rice Stitch.

Learn to do Rice Stitch/ Seed Stitch in 2 minutes!


Related Projects

Do you want to know where and how to use this stitch? Check out the projects below and learn more! Make something beautiful today.❤️


More stitches from the Straight Stitch Family

 


Learn the Rice Stitch along with 305 other stitches from our 600-page eBook. 

50 Responses

  1. S
    Sherrie L. Keller says:

    I love this video. Thank you so much. You have a beautiful, peaceful voice.

  2. P
    Patty Wilson says:

    hi according to my information this is seed stitch…rice stitch is completely different…i can send you a reference if you would like

    • Sarah says:

      Hi Patty,

      Sometimes names are shared between stitches. That is because the stitches take alternate names in different places. Also, some stitch names are translated from the local languages, which might end up being the same as an existing stitch name.

      As you mentioned in your follow-up comment, I had felt that you might be talking about the needlepoint stitch (cross stitch). Stitches can be named similarly in Needlepoint and Surface embroidery but look different. Like the Fern Stitch. And that is not it-sometimes, the same stitch is named differently in both kinds of needlework! For instance, the Lantern Stitch in Surface Embroidery is called the Queen Stitch in Needlepoint.

      So, anyway, don’t worry, you can go ahead and call this the Seed Stitch if you want! 😃

      Cheers!
      Sarah

      • P
        Patty Wilson says:

        Thanks…im on a design team for a lovely company called craft yourself silly…they make these cool little stitchionaries and i am currently working on a-z…i love learning new stuff so this is an amazing site…do you have plans to print the book as i woulf love a hard copy…if not my kindle will do lol

        • Sarah says:

          That is wonderful, Patty!
          We do plan to make a print version of the book, but don’t know how long it will take to materialize . 😬
          I would suggest that you go ahead with the eBook.

  3. J
    Jis Jose says:

    Mam,

    I am working in an ITI, as instructor in cs, recently we have started asap(additional skill acquisition program) project on hand embroiderer.

    To help the students and hand embroiderer instructor, we show them video tutorials along with the class , i usually download videos from youtube.

    Recently i was looking for “rice stitch” but could not find any relatable videos, if you could help me by pointing me to any known link, if its not much trouble, would be a help.

    Thankyou.

    P.s: i dont know anything about stitching, i am just managing the project , so please pardon my incompetence, its not due to ignorance.

  4. E
    Ellie says:

    I love this site and find it inspirational. Writing and photographing the steps involved is hard work. You do a great job and have a blog to be proud of. Thank you for sharing.
    Ellie

  5. C
    Christine says:

    Sarah —

    Love your site so much!!!!! It is so clear and concise!!! Thank you so much for this!

  6. A
    Annie Meek says:

    Sarah, I absolutely love, love, love, your tutorials on learning to do these stitches. I also think that you handled the response to the negative feed back about the “seed stitch” comment, laugh out loud!!! was done with wonderful aplomb. I am going to enjoy learning from you very much!!!! I am already a cross stitch enthusiast and now I think I might become an embroidery enthusiast as well!!!! Thank you for being willing to share your expertise with us!!!!
    Sincerely, Annie Meek

    • sarah says:

      Dear Patsy,
      I remained busy with some travels and could not reply earlier.
      The picture you sent me is not clear enough to make out the stitch. But, from the name mentioned and texture, it does look like that the ‘short straight stitch’ they mention is the rice stitch.

  7. p
    patsy says:

    I am working an alphabet kit by “broderies” from French Needle.

    One of the stitches required is called “short straight stitch”. The directions included do not include that exact stitch….I’m thinking it is this seed stitch you give the example for here?

    The directions for this stitch are a white daisy flower using stem stitch/satin stitch for the petals and gold shades for the short straight stitch in the center. Just looking at the photo it looks like french knots. The whole area is covered with no gaps between showing the linen fabric.

    What do you think?

    patsy

  8. r
    razia says:

    YDear Sarah. Thank you so much for such an informative and interesting tutorial. I am really enjoying every minute of it. You have put so much of hard work into this. I really appreciate every bit. Thank you once again.

  9. S
    Shafrina says:

    Hi Sarah,
    Im a newbie to the stitching world.. since ive gt intrested in hand embroidery nd surfd d net to find som help… luckily i found ur site… tnx alot wit the tutorials nd dey r helping looooadz…

    • sarah says:

      wow, what a lovely piece of work. Thanks for sharing. We enjoyed seeing it as much as you enjoyed doing it. 🙂

    • sarah says:

      Hi Shafrina,

      We are working on an E book with illustrated tutorials of 200 and more stitches. We want to feature some samples from our readers as well. Your work and picture looks really nice. If it is okay with you, we would like to consider using the image you have uploaded in this page to feature in our E book. All due credits will be given. Please let us know.

      Best regards,
      Sarah

      • S
        Shafrina says:

        Hi Sarah,
        wooow dts a great news.. its my pleasure dear.. im so glad that my work has intrested u.. u may use it..

        with looads of luv,
        shafrina.. 🙂

  10. M
    MaryAnne says:

    Hi Sarah,
    I started doing embroidery about 50 years ago but had put it aside for the last 20. I just picked it back up and your site is exactly what I needed to get me excited about the craft. You have an incredible amount of information and the Basic Stitch Family is exactly what I needed. I also love all the pieces that are illustrated on your site. Thank you for sharing your knowledge in such a generous way.

  11. t
    tina says:

    Hi Sarah,
    Am a beginner and was searching the net for the best tutorials i can
    find,and thank God i found you. its sad how some people are quick
    to critisize rather than appreciate the efforts
    that people put in their work.

    pls dont listen to
    such discouraging comments.

    I must confess am so much in love with your work.
    Keep up the good work.

  12. S
    Sumaiya says:

    Hi Sarah,

    Its really a nice and very helpful tutorial for beginners. Thank you so much for your time and effort to publish this tutorial which make everyone understand and learn easily. Great work dear. Keep up the work.
    Regards,

  13. M
    Marvin Herren says:

    Hello,
    I am a 51 year old bus mechanic in Ft. Lauderdale who broke my arm in a motorcycle accident. Your web site has helped me understand and improve my embroidering skills. Still learning. Thank you for the free help. My mind feels much better, due to the free therapy. Friends thank you for the beautiful work I’m doing.
    Keep up the good work.
    Regards, Marvin.

  14. M
    Meren says:

    Hi Sarah
    I’m just a beginner in embroidery. Lovely tutorial! Keep the great work going!

  15. M
    Megan says:

    Hi Sarah! Love your site. Can’t wait to get started!! Thanks!
    Best–Megan from J’adore Lucy

  16. l
    latha says:

    hi sarah realy ur website is very useful…….plzz post more stitches

  17. s
    safia says:

    Sarah! Nice name
    I m very much interested in embroidery .so plz carry on ur work as far as u can
    All the best

  18. s
    safia says:

    I lilked ur tutorials very ver much Jazakallah

  19. C
    Connie says:

    Sarah,
    Thank you for your most helpful tutorials. I’ve been looking for a different and fun stitch to quilt my hand embroidered blocks together and I think this one is just what the doctor ordered no matter what it’s called.
    Connie

  20. r
    rizna says:

    hai sarah.my name is rizna,i have been searching in web to know how to do handstiching and all.today accidently i happen to see ur tutorials.it awsome and ur pictures are just what i need for learning the stiches properly.thank you so much and i love your site very much:) bye

    • sarah says:

      Dear Rizna,
      It is nice to know that you are liking our pages. 🙂 Hope you enjoy learning from our pages and share some of your works with us.

  21. t
    tahereh . t says:

    hello dear mrs sarah.
    your art is very very nice and beauty.
    very thanx.
    good luck for you and your family.
    bye.

    • sarah says:

      XYZ,

      I find that the links vaguely consent with each other. Though most of them agree that ‘seeding’ is scattered straight stitches, they still seem to differ over ‘seed stitch’. My claim is not that they are all wrong, but only that my tutorial contains information that is best to my research, and knowledge.

      Anyway, if you personally feel that this tutorial was done without proper research, and is wrong, then kindly refuse to follow any of my pages.

      I do not appreciate anonymous comments written for the purpose of proving someone wrong, rather than for enlightening.

      Good bye and good luck.

      • A
        AJ says:

        the heck with names..as long as it’s a simple tutorial that i can follow..

        thanks a lot Sarah..i only knew how to backstitch, before i found this website..i haven’t gone through all, but will practise all the types of stitches you’ve shown in my workbook..

        thank you for such a lovely site. it helps us –beginners like me– a lot. best wishes to you both and your little girl 🙂

        • S
          Sandra says:

          You’re right AJ, who cares about the name of the stitch, all I care about is the result on my embroidery. I’ve been doing this calling it “seed stitch”, but I now see they do look more like rice grains than seeds.

          And thank you Sarah for the wonderful tutorials, I’ve bookmarked you page a long time ago, I like the clarity of your explanations on the tutorials and how you’ve organized the stitches by family. This week I’ve given the link to my class mates at the sewing course, most of them don’t speak English but the pictures are easy to understand, thanks also on their behalf!!!

          • sarah says:

            Dear Sandra,

            Thanks for writing and supporting.

            It is nice to know that you and your friends are finding our pages good. All the effort seems worthwhile. Do share some of your works with us when you get a chance. Our ‘welcome’ to your friends. 🙂

    • W
      Wendy says:

      No kidding! Why on earth would you surf the net, find some sweet soul’s website and post such rude and completely uncalled for remarks about their work? Would you walk up to your colleagues at work or a stranger, and if their work is not quite up to your ‘supposed’ standards, pass a rude remark at them?

      It’s highly unlikely because I highly doubt you’d be ok with the reaction you might get. At some point it’s gotta sink home that it’s THEIR work!! NOT yours!

      So what if a few stitch names get confused along the way…people come out with new stitches all the time and there is such a variety that it’s hard to keep track of all the names. What counts is that you learn how to do them, you make beautiful things for your home and have the satisfaction of knowing you did that with your own hands…

      BTW…embroidery, like cooking and baking is not a straight-laced type of craft. It’s a warm and very beautiful pastime. It should never be treated like a cut and dried, ‘have to do it this way or I’ve failed’ type of hobby. Treat other’s work and opinions with some respect please.

      • sarah says:

        Dear Wendy,

        Thanks for writing and showing support to me.

        Must admit with apologies that I am seeing your comment only now…some technical problem from this end.

        A great deal of effort goes into researching and making a page of tutorial, and your understanding of this is reassuring. 🙂 Thanks a lot.

    • TCosy says:

      Old argument I know, but if you read the text that goes with the second link to over at Mary Corbett’s it says “Seed stitch looks great when it’s worked either in a uniform pattern (as it is in the video) or when it’s worked randomly” and there are photos of both methods…

  22. x
    xyz says:

    Who on earth said that seed stitch follows any pattern? And this is seed stitch not rice stitch.Lady,please research more before publishing tutorials. Seed stitch is also known as rice grain. Which book are you copying the tutorials from?
    I know you may just delete this comment..but this had to be written.

    • sarah says:

      Dear XYZ from Bangalore,

      Thanks for the comment and your anxiety is respected.

      Rice stitch is what ‘point de riz’ is in French. This stitch is not to be confused with the rice stitch from the cross stitch family, or even the rice stitch that is prominent in knitting.

      Rice stitch is also known as ‘seeding stitch’ and not ‘seed stitch’ as you have mentioned. And, you are right, seed stitch is also known as rice grain stitch. We have published the seed stitch tutorial for more details.

      Let me bring notice to your intellect that there are many stitches that follow similar names and also are confused with each other due to the visual and technical similarities. So, before you comment on someone’s work and effort, please do the research yourself.

    • Marlin Cherian says:

      By far, I can strongly claim that I have not known anyone who has invested so much of their time, effort and will to put together such an efficient and well-explanatory set of tutorials. The amount of feedback Sarah receives each day speaks volumes about her successful endeavor. It is such a shame that people relish in pointing out such silly flaws and do not even have the basic civility to use appropriate language to put their ‘baseless’ point across.

      Anyways, KUDOS Sarah! Keep up your good work.

      • sarah says:

        Dear Marlin,

        Nice to hear from you after a long time. Thanks for your support. 🙂 It really shows that you understand the kind of effort that goes into making this tutorial, and that is reassuring. We were always open to corrections if there has been any short comings in our tutorials. But it gets a bit cheap when people come up with the sole intention to put you down with harsh language, and that too anonymously.

        Hoping all is well there.

    • B
      Bobbie says:

      Wow, I can’t believe you would be so rude to this woman who has done such a thorough and complete job of making this website devoted to embroidery. Shame on you.

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