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Blanket stitch - great for applique and decorative impact

The Old Button Play On The Go © Play Scenes - Safai Zoo What is blanket stitch Blanket stitch is an edging stitch, traditionally used to finish the edges of woollen blankets (or other woven items) to stop them unravelling.  Sewn in a connected row, the stitch forms neat 3 sides boxes, with the effect of "down" side stitches connected by "top" stitches, but they are formed by looping the thread in a continuous stitch.      When used as an edging stitch, it wraps itself around the edge, with down stitches showing at the front and the back, and the top showing across the outside edge.      The Old Button felt flower brooch Securing applique As it can be eased around curves and used on angles of any shape, including internal ones, blanket stitch is also great for securing applique patches.  I use it a lot with felt, but it also works well on cotton or wool fabrics too as where it has the added benefit of catching in any fraying threads.  The Old Button heart an
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Mini tutorial - Blanket stitch embroidery

How to sew blanket stitch

This is part of a series of mini-tutorials about embroidery stitches, I am doing to coincide with the launch of my "sew-it-yourself" craft kits (available on Etsy and Folksy).  

See my embroidery 101 post for an introduction to embroidery and useful general tips, plus links to all the stitch specific tutorials as I create them.  

Sewing a row of blanket stitches

1 - The starting stitch

Thread your needle with your chosen thread, knotted at the end to stop it pulling through the fabric. With the knot at the back of the fabric, make a single stitch, the size you want the side of your "box-leg" to be. I find it easier to start from top and stitch down to the bottom of the leg.


Bring the needle back to the front of the work at the top of the leg, and pull the thread through until it is taut. 

2 - Create the first "loop" 

Move to the right (or left if you prefer) the same distance as the length of your first stitch, and create the other side of the box. Although this appears as a "downwards leg" in the finished stitch, you actually push the needle upwards through the fabric.



Ensure the thread is laid behind the needle as it comes out at the top. Pull the needle through smoothly - as you do this the thread will form a loop.

Continue pull the thread through until the thread all sits flat on the fabric and forms the classic 3-sided "box" shape of blanket stitch. Make sure the stitch is gently taut but don't pull the thread too tight or the fabric will pucker and the box will look distorted. If this happens, use the blunt end of the needle to loosen the stitch a bit before you continue.

3 - Repeat.....

Moving in the same direction, repeat the looping stitch to create a row of blanket stitches. Try to keep your stitches the same size, both in height and spacing.

You now have a row of 3 sided boxes - they look a bit like connected "m"s. 

If you are sewing in the middle of a piece of fabric, blanket stitch looks different from the back - you will just see vertical lines.  If you are sewing around the outside, the stitch wraps itself around, with the vertical legs showing on both sides and the top stitch along the edge.  

 4 - Finishing off your stitching

At the end of your row, push the needle through the fabric to the back, very close to the top of the final stitch. 

If you are sewing all the way round a shape and have come back to the beginning, move your needle over and push it through at the top of the first stitch instead - this way the boxes look continuous. (See the heart photo at the top of the page.)

From the back, secure your stitching with a small over stitch or weave your thread a few times through the back of the stitches. 

See my Embroidery 101 post for more info on finishing stitches

Turning corners with blanket stitching

It is easy to turn a corner with blanket stitch, by changing where the entry or exit point of the needle goes to create angled side stitches. 

External angles 

As you go round the corner, put the the needle into the same starting point of each stitch but keep the exit point the same top stitch width. 

This creates a triangular shape - as you do this in both both sides of the corner you will get a box with a diagonal line. You can see how I am using it for the bottom point of the heart.

 

Deopending on your tension, you may find the top thread slips down and no longer sits nicely hugs the edges of the external corner. If this happens, you can do a little securing or catch stitch to keep the thread in place - after your first angled stitch, push your needle to the back right at the very tip of the corner before returning it back to the front very close but not exactly in the same place, before continuing.  
 
See my Embroidery 101 post for more info on catch stitches.

Internal angles

This time, use the normal starting point of each stitch but angle the needle so it exits at the internal corner each time.

This creates a starburst effect - with 2 or 3 (or more) stitches depending on the steepness of the angle. You can see how I've used 3 stitches here where the curves of the heart meet in an internal point.


It looks best if external corner stitches start the same distance from the corner as your other stitches, and internal corners start at the internal point. With practice you get used to thinking ahead and marginally adjusting the last few stitches so you land in the right place.

Blanket stitching curves 

As the photo above illustrates, blanket stitch can easily be sewn into a curved line.

You do this by adjusting the angle you place the needle so that each stitch is off-square, but keep them  broadly perpendicular to the curved edge so the stitches still appear box-like. Keep the width of the stitch the same.

If you want your curve to go up, you shift your entry and exit point of the needle up a bit - but at the same time you angle the the top of the needle inwards so the distance between the bottom of the side stitches is slightly wider than the top stitch. 


To curve down, angle the top point outwards so the bottom of the side stitches are closer to each other than the top stitch, while also shifting the needle down a little.

How much of an angle depends on how quickly the shape curves, and your stylistic choice. The rabbit shape below is a good example of this.

 

For gentle curves, such as the rabbit's back, my stitches have barely noticible angle changes and the boxes still look square-ish. Sharper curves (for example round his neck or under his front paws) needed a bigger angle change making the boxes more trapeziod.

For the really pointy tip of his ears and the corners of his paws I used the external corner triangular method. I did this this on the front of his face too - it give the impression of his pointy little nose and whiskers!

Want to know more? 

To find out more about blanket stitch and how it can be used, you may also want to read my post on using blanket stitch for applique and decorative impact. 

 

I hope this is useful, and I'd love to hear from you about the things you've made after reading this tutorial. 

Please also reach out to me if you don't understand anything here. It's easy for me to write about things that I do all the time, without realising that it isn't as clear as I think it is!

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