Also known as:  Ladder stitch, Square chain stitch, and Roman chain stitch

This kind of chain stitch gives a ladder like appearance. It can be used to pin down or couch down threads and ribbons. Various embelishments can be done between the spaces created in the ‘ladder’.

This stitch is worked on two parallel lines, rather than a single line as in chain stitch. So, if you may want, you can draw two parallel stitch lines with a pencil or washable ink before starting the practice.

Fig 1: Bring the thread out through A.Take the thread in through B and bring the needle out through C but don’t pull it out completely.		Fig 2: Loop the thread around the needle, as you would for chain stitch, and pull out the needle. Be careful not to tighten the loop too much.
		Fig 3: Take the needle in through D and bring it out through E. Loop the thread around the needle and pull it out for the next ‘step’ in the ‘ladder’.
		Fig 4: Continue with the action of looping pattern to give a ladder like appearance

 Note:
Keep in mind that the alternate alphabets lie on one line. That is, A,C, E etc…on one line and B, D, F etc.. on the parallel line.
Keep the loops loose enough to accomodate the needle for the next ‘step’. Making the loop too tight will pull the thread and fabric to distortion when you try to put in the needle for the next step. For example, to accomodate the needle in D, you have to keep the loop A-C-B slightly loose. You will get to know of it once you try this stitch on your own.

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Tags: embroidery tutorial, hand embroidery, ladder stitch, open chain stitch, roman chain stitch, square chain stitch

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