Holbein stitch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Holbein stitch is a simple, reversible line embroidery stitch most commonly used in Blackwork embroidery and Assisi embroidery. The stitch is named after Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543), a painter of 16th-century English portraits and best known for his portraits of Henry VIII and his children, in which Blackwork and the "double running stitch" were used as decoration on shirt collars, cuffs, ruffs and linens.
Although superficially similar to Back Stitch the Holbein stitch produces a smoother line and a pattern that is identical on both sides of the fabric. It can be worked in straight lines, diagonally, or in a stepped fashion to make a zigzag line and is well suited to creating outlines or intricate filling patterns.
Holbein stitch is also known as double running stitch, line stitch, Spanish stitch, Chiara stitch and two-sided line stitch.
[edit] Description of the technique
Holbein stitch is usually worked on on an evenweave fabric where the threads can be counted to ensure perfect regularity and is worked in two stages. Firstly, a row of evenly spaced running stitches is worked along the line to be covered. Then the return journey is completed, filling in the spaces between stitches made on the first journey and sharing the same holes:
[edit] See also
- Category:Embroidery
- Assisi embroidery
- Blackwork embroidery
- Counted-thread embroidery
- Embroidery stitches
[edit] References
Eaton, Jan. Mary Thomas's Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches, Revised by Jan Eaton. London: Hodder&Stoughton, 1989. ISBN 0-340-51075-7
