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Embellishing with hand stitches is both a very creative and a very relaxing way to embellish. As opposed to machine stitching which is often fast and furious, hand stitching has the effect of slowing us down and bringing us into the present moment; allowing us to become aware of each stitch we make and the conscious choice of making those stitches. It gives us time for personal reflection, and gives us a feeling of actually being a little in control of our often hectic lives. Plus as an added bonus, it’s much easier to unstitch than machine stitching

I personally only use a few different types of hand stitches when I embellish my art quilts or wearable art. My favorite is the french knot which I use a lot, and I also like a simple running stitch, fly stitch and cross stitch. Each of these stitches can easily be changed in appearance by simply changing the color, thickness or type of embroidery thread, and also by lengthening or shortening the stitch.

Decorative hand stitches using can be used to represent realistic images such as small bunches of flowers …

they can used simply as a freehand embellishment …

or they can even be used functionally and decoratively to replace the traditional quilting stitch.

A great online resource for hand embroidery stitches is Sharon b’s Dictionary of Stitches for Hand Embroidery and Needlework. On her website she has listed hundreds of different hand embroidery stitches, and on her blog you’ll find lots of information, free patterns and tutorials.

If you’ve never tried hand stitching, I encourage you to give it a go. It’s a wonderful way to add a little personality to your projects and is a very relaxing way to embellish. I’m sure you’ll be hooked in no time.

This post is part of the 30 Days of Titivations; a 30 day blogathon all about embellishing and embellishments.

You can find lots of free embellishment tutorials in the tutorials section of my blog which can be found here, and even more techniques can be found on my Titivations DVD. Please visit the Instructional DVD section of the store for full details.

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