Stitch Picture Dictionary

This Embroidery Stitch Picture Dictionary will help you to identify the stitches even if you don’t know the names! Dig through our embroidery stitch library of 300 stitches below—click over a picture and go directly to the stitch tutorial page. Each stitch page includes step-by-step illustrations and videos to guide you.

When I started researching and documenting hand embroidery stitches way back in 2007, many stitches looked similar in their basic technique. To make identifying easier, I started categorizing them into different groups. I call each group a Stitch Family. This categorization should help you in easy reference, and for identifying and selecting the stitches. The Stitch Families are placed in alphabetical order. 🙂 Hover over the images for the alternate names in different popular languages.

We have a dedicated Hand Embroidery Book with the picture dictionary and step-by-step guides to each of these 306 stitches. Buy now and start stitching!

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Back Stitch Family

Back Stitch	Laced Back Stitch	Whipped Back Stitch
Pekinese Stitch	Open Back Stitch	Herringbone Ladder
Split Back Stitch

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Blanket Stitch Family

Blanket Stitch	Buttonhole Stitch	Whipped Buttonhole
Double Blanket Stitch	Closed Blanket Stitch	Crossed Blanket
Blanket Triangles	Buttonhole Wheel	Buttonhole wheel Cup
Rosette of Thorns	Raised Blanket Stitch	Buttonhole Bar
Berwick Stitch	Barb Stitch	Buttonhole Filling
Detached Buttonhole	Ceylon Stitch	Mirrored Blanket
Feathered Buttonhole	German Knotted	Knotted Blanket
Antwerp Stitch	Honeycomb Stitch	Fishnet Stitch
Blanket Scallops	Shaped Scallops	Buttonhole Shading
Holy Point Stitch	Merrow Stitch

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Chain Stitch Family

Chain Stitch	Whipped Chain	Double Whipped Ch
Partial Whipped Ch	Magic Chain	Reverse Chain
Lazy Daisy	Long Tailed Daisy	Petal Chain Stitch
Russian Chain	Wheatear Stitch	Basque Stitch
Tulip Stitch	Detached Wheatear	Bull’s Head Stitch
Oyster Stitch	Berry Stitch	Raised Cup Stitch
Rope Stitch	Heavy Chain Stitch	Braided Chain
Open Chain Stitch	Sinhalese Chain	Double Chain Stitch
Triple Chain Stitch	Sailor Stitch	Crested Chain
Checkered Chain	Raised Chain Band	Interlaced Chain
Laced Chain Stitch	Overlayed Laced Ch	Butterfly Chain
Twisted Chain Stitch	Alt. Twisted Chain	Zigzag Twisted Ch.
Barred Chain	Alt. Barred Chain	Rosette Stitch
Back Stitched Chain	Tied Chain Stitch	Feathered Chain
Shell Stitch	Shell Chain Stitch	Wave Chain
Zigzag Chain	Cable Chain	Zigzag Cable Chain
Knotted Chain	Knotted Cable Ch.	Braid Stitch

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Chevron Stitch Family

Chevron Stitch	Threaded Chevron	Detached Chevron
Mirrored Chevron	Double Chevron	Chevron Filling
Half Chevron	Staggered Chevron

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Couching Stitch Family

Surface Couching	Underside Couching	Thorn Stitch
Pendant Couching	Rumanian Couching	Convent Stitch
Bokhara Couching	Couched Circle	Trellis Couching
Lattice Couching	Jacobean Couching	Twisted Lattice
Burden Stitch	Plaid Filling Stitch	Torocko Stitch
Honeycomb Filling	Battlement Couching	Bayeux Stitch
Persian Border	Tuft Couching

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Cretan Stitch Family

Cretan Stitch	Closed Cretan	Laced Cretan
Scottish Cretan	Looped Cretan	Knotted Cretan
Double Cretan	Plaited Insertion	Crossed Cretan
French Cretan	Open Cretan

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Cross Stitch Family

Cross Stitch	Double Cross Stitch	Dutch Cross
Padded Cross	Moss Stitch	Cord Stitch

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Fishbone Stitch Family

Fishbone Stitch	Opened Fishbone	Open Fishbone
Sprat’s Head	Crow’s Foot	Raised Fishbone
Star Stitch	Flat Stitch	Basket Stitch

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Feather Stitch Family

Feather Stitch	Closed Feather	Single Feather
Double Feather	Straight-Sided Feather	Crossed Feather
Plaited Feather	Maidenhair Feather	Inverted Feather
Bonnet Stitch

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Fly Stitch Family

Fly Stitch	Whipped Fly Stitch	Closed Fly Stitch
Plaited Fly Stitch	Twisted Fly Stitch	Crossed Fly Filling
Wave Stitch	Crown Stitch	Reversed Fly
Whipped Reversed	Threaded Reversed	Anklet Stitch

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Herringbone Stitch Family

Herringbone Stitch	Threaded H’bone	Twisted Lattice Band
Tacked H’bone	Ornate Herringbone	Laced H’bone
Double H’bone	Indian H’bone	Interlaced H’bone
Closed H’bone	Otomi	Shadow Stitch
H’bone Square	Maltese Cross	Double Maltese
Interlaced H’bone	Interlaced Maltese	Int’ced d’ble Maltese
Persian Star	Laced Herringbone	Ermine
Vertical H’bone	Vandyke	H’bone Ladder
Half Herringbone	Breton Stitch	Raised Herringbone
Tied Herringbone

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Knot Stitch Family

French Knot	Plucked Knot	Colonial Knot
Peking Knot	Pistil Stitch	Danish Knot
Bullion Knot	Sword Stitch	Pearl Knot
Coral Stitch	Scroll Stitch	Knotted Diamond
Indian Edging	Turkey Rug Knot	Four Legged Knot

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Palestrina Stitch Family

Palestrina Stitch	Sorbello Stitch	Basque Knot
Triple Palestrina	Reversed Palestrina	Eastern Stitch
Surrey Stitch	Mountmellick	Pleated Braid

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Running Stitch Family

Running Stitch	Looped Running	Laced Running Stitch
Interlaced Running	Whipped Running	Laced Edging
Parallel Running	Fairy Lights	Meandering Stitch
Stepped Running	Gut Raincoat	Clown Collar
Darning Stitch	Holbein Stitch	Japanese Darning
Seed Stitch

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Satin Stitch Family

Satin Stitch	Whipped Satin	Leaf Stitch
Padded Satin Stitch	Encroaching Satin	Brick Stitch
Surface Satin	Knotted Satin	Back Stitched Satin
Trailing Stitch	Double Satin

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Stem Stitch Family

Stem Stitch	Looped Stem	Whipped Stem
Outline Stitch	Split Stitch	Pueblo Stitch
Cable Stitch	Lock Stitch	Double Lock Stitch
Portuguese Stem	Japanese Stitch

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Straight Stitch Family

Straight Stitch	Fern Stitch	Algerian Eyelet
Diamond Eyelet	Rhodes Stitch	Ray Stitch
Radiating Stitch	Lantern Stitch	Eyelet Wheels
Arrowhead Stitch	Threaded Arrowhead	Eyelet Stitch
Rice Stitch	Raised Rice Stitch	Speckling
Granitos Stitch	Sheaf Stitch

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Weave Stitch Family

Woven Circle	Woven Oval	Woven Wheel
Whipped Spider’s	God’s Eye Stitch	Weaving Stitch
Woven Trellis Stitch	Woven Bar	Stripped Woven Band
Raised Needle Wea	Woven Picot	Broad Woven Picot
Woven Cross	Woven Star	Portuguese Border

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Knit Stitch Family

Cast-On Stitch

Double Cast-On

Drizzle Stitch

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Learn all these stitches and plenty more from our 600-page eBook. 

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