Embroidery stitches
Most hand embroidery uses a handful of stitches: line stitches for outlines and letters, fill stitches for solid shapes, and detached stitches such as knots and petals. Each guide below shows the stitch in numbered steps and comes with a free practice sheet that marks every needle hole, true to size.
Line stitches
Fill stitches
Knots and detached stitches
How the practice sheets work
The line stitches and French knots share one practice sheet layout: three straight lines, two gentle curves, a circle and a spiral. Lazy daisy gets flowers in three sizes, and satin stitch gets shapes to fill. A dot marks every place the needle goes in or out (for satin, dashed lines show the stitch angle), at the size the guide recommends, so you can practise even stitches before you start a real pattern. Print at 100% and check the 5 cm scale bar first.
The diagrams number every needle position in order: a filled dot where the needle comes up, a ring where it goes down.
Sources
Updated