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The Backstitch

Lesson 3 from: Introduction to Embroidery

Lisa Shaffer

The Backstitch

Lesson 3 from: Introduction to Embroidery

Lisa Shaffer

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Lesson Info

3. The Backstitch

Next Lesson: The Straight Stitch

Lesson Info

The Backstitch

So now comes the fun part we're going to get started on the stitches, so the first ditch we're going to be talking about is the basic back stitch this is going tio completely change your life if you don't know it. Hopefully, if you have done sewing at home, you're familiar with the back stitch from hand sewing in terms of embroidery it's my favorites touch feel like you can do so much with it you can detail things with it. It looks great with numbers and letters and different shapes and little hearts and all sorts of fancy little things it's absolutely my favorite, it looks beautiful with spacing between it or just completely next to each other. I love it, I could do back stitch and french knots all day long for the rest of my life, so the way to get a perfect back stitch is you're going to be thinking left to right, right to left you're going toe think one way and then the other way, so depending upon how your mind works still see what I mean in a second. So I'm gonna sort of I'm goin...

g to work on going around like I did on that santa because it looks really pretty, so with the basic back stitch you want to go in, we're going to go left to right first and then you're going to be going right to left, so you're going to be poking through the fabric before your stitch or your intended length and then moving back in with in the same hole so technically it's supposed to be the same hole and the reason why the stitches working backwards because it's easier to create a uniform size working backwards than it is forward because you're choosing the size when you're coming up and then you're moving back so that's, how you can get a really nice uniforms stood, but if you're not using the same exact hole, it's not gonna ruin anything if you can't get it back in there, get it really close. It should look just fine, but definitely aimed for sharing the hole that you're using, so you're starting left to right and then you're moving right in the lab, which is hands the back stitch so you're coming up through before and then going back in, I'm going to do a few more stitches and then I'll come around now. One of the variations you can do with this, even if you're using the same color is then to vary the size of the stitch, so I sort of have about the same size here and then I could make a really big one and that would be some way to have a little bit of interest in there okay, so I'm gonna come around and see how you guys are doing and do you have any tricks? Because you're like going around perfect circles do you ever draw on the fabric or yeah, yeah to keep yourself from making a wave shape yeah, if you're doing a shape, one of the great things you can purchase for yourself is a I think it's called it's called it maybe it's called the taylors marker that it's purple ink that basically disappears and you can get them in super fine points and you can draw on any fabric and then with just a little bit of water it will disappear so that's one thing you can use I want to be introducing you to does this super secret special art paper in the advanced and very class the customizing class and that's what that's what I used so there are different things you can use, but one of the taylors pencils are markers is a really good way to do it if you're doing something and you want it to be super exact. One of the things about embroidery that you kind of have to decide for yourself is like how interpretive revealing are you martha graham or you alvin ailey what's your interpretive situation so some people really like embroidery to stay free hand and then maybe you want a heart that's a little bit more you know, lovey dovey in and me looking or maybe you want one that's super, the example that I have if there's like super perfect, which I didn't draw, but I've learned to be able to do that without a mark. How are you doing? Get very oh, my gosh, look at how that like that? Yeah, that's a beautiful thing. A morse code? Yeah, so that some of the nest and about back stitch is theirs a million different variations. You can do that at interest dimension because I'm left handed, so I'm going the other the other way, right? So all lefties, you're going to be starting right to left and then left to right, right? Yeah, is it that that the tension stay of the thread stay the same I like well, again because I'm making a lot of product and things for people that they're buying. I like to keep the threat really tight if it's to lose it it's not going to tohave a quality to it that's going toe last and look in really good shape. Uh, if it's, if you have places that are loose, the threat gets loose, you can turn the hoop over and pick at it through the back and then tighten it uh, yeah but it's good to keep it as taut as possible with one of the advantages of using a hoop is that you don't need to worry about the threat pulling the thread taught and then changing the integrity of the fabric because it's pulled tight and hoop uh, so if you were stitching, you know, silk or something, you're embroidering silk by hand without a hoop, and you're pulling this, there will be attention that is too tight that will weaken the integrity of a more delicate fabric like silk and that's, just something you kind of have to gauge is you're going along, so a good idea is tio always have a little sample of the fabric, it doesn't need to be the exact fabric or using, but ifyou're been working on denim and all of a sudden you want to embroider something on silic if you don't have a scrap of still, go to the fabric store by, like a teeny tiny little piece of silk work on that to see the tension. If you want to use a hoop if you don't to figure it out so that then whatever you are working on, you don't compromise the integrity of the fabric, okay? So I'll show a couple more stitches here, and I think the show we'll do is we'll talk about letters a little bit making letters, free hand or not it's totally up to you when you're working on letters but you will see if you're doing cursive or print font and also with shapes there will be places where the stitch might cross so ok good you can see that so you then need to make a decision you know how how you're going to do this or you're going to have it come over or meet up and go through the same hole those kind of decisions because make is your going on but there will be some decisions to make with letters or shapes like this one you can see I left a little space their heart there's like a little space there but at the top I have them I'm sharing the whole so the other decisions you can make as you go you wanted to look and then here you can see that the threads don't go over each other they stop down here they stopped to where it crosses so those are things to consider when you're doing monograms or shapes and things like that does anyone have questions with thie back stitch okay I'm going toe just show one of the variations that the students is doing with the space in between so you can see how that looks and then all you're doing is you're not sharing with the whole with the steps you're just leaving a space and you khun dio really big ones and the little guys but that is the backstretch. Okay, everyone. Good with that, okay.

Class Materials

Bonus Materials with Purchase

Lisa Shaffer - Love In My Heart Graphic.pdf
Lisa Shaffer - Intro To Embroidery Resource Guide.pdf

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