6 Basic Hand Sewing Stitches To Us For Making Softies

With Sew A Softie month just around the corner, I thought I would put together some helpful step-by-step photo tutorials of 6 Basic Hand Sewing Stitches to help you.

This first image is a key to explain what the arrows in the pictures mean.

 

1  First off we have the most used and basic of all hand stitches – the Running Stitch. This is good for joining 2 pieces together, decoration or creating details like faux pockets.

 

2. This next one is a variation of the running stitch.  I call it the Double Running Stitch because you go around twice.  The second time around, you fill in the gaps you left the first time so you end up with a solid line. If you know how to do a Back-stitch, you can substitute it for that instead.

 

3. The Chain Stitch is good to use when you what a thicker line. It can be used for things like mouths,  eyebrows, flower stems or just for decoration.

 

4. Cross Stitch is another popular stitch that is quick and easy. It can be used for decoration or to create eyes. It can also be used to sew on a 4 holed button.

 

5. French Knots can look a little tricky, but they are quite simple. They are good for creating small eyes [for bigger eyes, use a thicker thread], for small faux buttons, freckles or just for decoration.  Tip: Don’t pull the thread through to the back too tightly, just enough to create the knot.

 

6. Finally, we have the Blanket Stitch. Another popular stitch. This is often used to applique a piece of fabric onto another where you want all the edges covered by the stitch. It is also very popular for making felt softies where you join the pieces on the right side, so  you can see the stitching when the softie is finished.

 

 

I hope you find these helpful when you’re working on your next project. If you did, and you share your project on Instagram or Facebook, don’t forget to tag me so I can check it out – I would love to see what your making 🙂

If you would like a copy of the robot design I used in this post you can Click here to download your copy 🙂

Are there any other hand sewing stitches you would like me to create step-by-step tutorials for? Let me know in the comments 🙂

Happy sewing …