Petal Chain Stitch is also known as
Punto de cadeneta en pétalos [ES], Ponto cadeia de pétalas [PT].
How to do the Petal Chain Stitch
This stitch is done from right to left…or, better to do from right to left. My stitch line will follow a spiral shape to show the easy curves this stitch can follow.
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| Fig 1: Bring the needle out through A. Take the needle ‘backward’ to put it in through B and bring it out through C. The point C lies halfway between A and B. Also note that C lies below the stitch A-B. | Fig 2: Now, take the needle in through C again to bring it out from D, but don’t pull out the needle completely. The point D lies straight below C. |
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| Fig 3: Loop the thread around the needle from left to right, as illustrated. | Fig 4: Pull out the needle to tighten the loop. Finish up with the first petal chain stitch by putting in the needle just outside the loop, near the point D, as you would in a lazy daisy stitch. Bring out the needle again through E. |
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| Fig 5: Now, take the needle in through the earlier stitch point C to bring it out through A. Note that this time, A lies halfway through the stitch E-C. | Fig 6: Continue the procedure to make more Petal Chain Stitches. |
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| Fig 7: A finished pattern with a Petal Chain Stitch would look like this. |
Learn to do Petal Chain Stitch in 2 minutes!
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Related stitches from the Chain Stitch Family
Sarah has been researching and sharing hand embroidery lessons for over 18 years, making it accessible to everyone around the globe.
Is it possible to alternate the petals on this stitch too, so they are on both sides of the stem? Or will that mess up the line?
Hi Jonelle,
Yes, you can alternate the petals. You will have to pay attention to Fig 5. If you want a ‘petal’ on the the other side of the line, keep the needle above the thread emerging from the stitch point ‘E’. Do this every alternate time when you stitch the ‘petal’ on the other side. The only thing is that your Stem Stitch will turn into Cable Stitch.
You can do the ‘petals’ on either side of the stem stitch too, but every alternate time, the ‘petals’ will fall over the line.
I hope this helps! Let me know. 😊
Hi Sarah,
thanks a lot for the site I could recollect lot of stitches that I had learnt in my school days 30yrs back.
Happy to hear, Shobha!! 😊
hey
and could u reply to me soon my exam is the day after tomorrow thanks
ill be grateful
hey
actually could u give me two simple motifs my friend also needs one
and could u reply to me soon my exam is the day after tomorrow thanks
hey im in grade 7 and my final exams are soon and i need a simple motif so that i could do it on my paper involving these three stitches particularly
petal chain stitch ,wheat ear stitch and zig zag chain or simple chain
and could u post it on this website ive lost my email password
thanx a lot
i just tried this stich on a hanky nd loving it 🙂
Dear Amy,
I think Fathima has used Bullion knots to do this embroidery.
You can use the normal cotton floss by Anchor or DMC to do an embroidery that is regularly washed.
I don’t know of any pillowcases that has the embroidery back covered. Anyway, the embroidery would go inside the pillow cover and so you don’t have to worry about hiding it.
Yes, it is good to wash the fabric before you embroider them. But, if it is of a good quality and is not prone to shrinkage or color parting, you can avoid washing too.
Good quality cotton fabric is fine for pillowcases.
Sorry that I won’t be able to do any tutorial on personal requests. I might be doing various tutorials in the coming future, but not sure how long it might take.
Best wishes.
Hello,
I hope you are doing well. I love your tutorials. Thank you!
Would you do a tutorial about how to do those lovely pink and red flowers above? I believe it is from Fathima May 31, 2013.
It would be nice to see those which appear to be fairly large. Usually you see these flowers done much smaller. Would you also be able to advise as to which thread is best on embroidery done on sheets and pillowcases, which will be laundered frequently? I would like to do a sheet and pillowcase set as a gift and would love to do many different kinds of flowers or sea shore/sea shell patterns. It would be wonderful to see a category on just “flowers”, if you do not already have one.
Also, are there special sheets and pillowcases that have a cover that hides the back of the embroidery?? I saw this once and have not found it again. I would like to have a decent quality sheet and pillowcase set for a gift, for embroidery and would appreciate any suggestions you can make. Do I need to wash the sheets before I embroider them? Which thread do you recommend? Which kind of sheets? Would you consider doing a tutorial on a sheet and pillowcase project?
Do you know how to do a star?? not the cross-stitch simple star, but an actual star hand embroidered?? Stars are better for boys sheets.
Thanks again-
Thanks so much.
love you”r website. its really help full.i do hand embroidery for orders.its worth for me.thanks a lot sara,
Dear Fathima,
What wonderful flowers you have made! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
thanks sarah:):)
Hi Sarah,
I was eager to learn embroidery through some training classes but by luck I have seen your website.Your website provides full details with clear pictures.Really no other website I have seen like this.No words to appreciate your effort to upload everything very clearly.
Thanks a lot!!!.Your help for people interested like us should continue forever.
Hi Sarah,
Your tutorial is of great help for beginners like me.
Thanxx a lot!!!!
OMG!!! this looks awesome… i was worried cuz i dint know what to do 4 my Art&Crafts exam…. but thank god dat i found this…. i never knew stitching was soo easy… & fun….. Thanks sooo much…..
Hi again,
If not, could you give the steps for crested chain?
Janet
Dear Janet,
Crested chain stitch is not the same as the petal chain stitch.
I will try to put up a tutorial as soon as I get a chance to. I don’t have a tutorial ready right now.
Thanks so much! I’m learning such a lot!!
Video tutorial for crested chain stitch: needlenthread.com/2010/11/crested-chain-stitch-video-tutorial.html
Hi,
I love your site and am learning so much!!
However, I’m confused — is Petal Chain the same as Crested Chain???
Thanks again,
Janet
Hi Sarah,
I am very much interested in embroidery and related craft work. Your tutorials are very useful or me.Thanks my friend.
I hve just watched ur site yesterday ,i got it from google search,i searched diff site,but this is the very very good and fantastic site,thanks a lot for this site.i started to learn the handemproidery for the last two yrs,i got the basics from my friend,but I just know about shadow,stem,laisy daisy.but from this site I can learn lots of works,oh thanks a lot for helping us by this wonderful site,i wish u to have a great futur…….
hi sarah
cant wait for yr tutorials on kutch works and aari works…….plz upload sooooooooooonnnnnnn
thanx
Hi Thaarika 🙂 ,
There has been quite many requests for Kutch work. I will try to work on it and upload it at the earliest. I am held up for another couple of months though. We are busy with our new born baby and travels for now. 🙂
I have a tunic I want to embroid this stitch is just perfect for my tunic project I love this stitch
🙂 Do share what you have made with us once done!
Hi,
I’m following your tutorial for the past few days.. v.useful one… and working on the stitches which I am not aware of… its very useful and one can learn easily as all the stitches are given step by step…
Dear Chitra,
We are happy that you have been enjoying our tutorial pages. Please share some of your favourite works with us. 🙂
nice designs,very useful site
Thanks Viji
Hey i love this site and thanx for making this it helps alot i just wanted to ask though can you do this on any fabric and do you need some sort of thick thread and again thanx
Dear Hannah,
You can try this on any fabric. If you use a medium thick thread, it looks prettier and more prominent, otherwise, there is no rule to it.
🙂
Hai,
Yours is a very useful site. none of the embroidery tutorial site can compete with yours. Really I got benefitted through ur site. Thank You so much da…
Dear Lakshmi,
Thanks for your response to our tutorials. We are happy that you are enjoying our pages. 🙂
Hai Sarah,
I tried this stitch yesterday. Realy nice… Thanks dear….
Jisha
Hey Jisha,
I hope you liked what your efforts. 🙂
Hi Sarah
How are you??
I started learning embroidery recently, thats when my cousin Ammu recommended this site to me.
You’ve a very beautiful place here and its very helpful for beginners like me. Btw, I did this pattern on a saree and presented to my amma. She liked it very much. Thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge and explaining it in great detail. You are doing a great job!!
Cheers
Maria
Hey Maria,
We feel great to know that you have liked our pages and have been learngin from them. 🙂 Even more, when we know that you used the embroideries to gift to your mom. In fact, I had also gifted an embroidered saree to my mom, which she wore for the first time today and got complimented many times over.
best regards!
hey maria! happy to see you here. i have visited your mouthwatering website before, through ammus. so you are my 3 x cousin 🙂
Cool… liked the choice of colours… 🙂
Thanks LJ. 🙂
Hi Sarah,
Sending you the pic of the work that i managed to complete.
Thank you for maintaining this tutorial.
Warm Regards,
Liza.
Wow! Liza, I see that you are returning after a long time. You have done a great job. I hope you enjoyed stitching it as much. Thanks for sharing. Keep posting your stitches…it will inspire new learners, and we will be glad to see your progress. 🙂
Thank you Sarah!
Yes, returning after a long break. I did manage to complete few more pieces. I will try to send you the pictures 🙂