This very delicate stitch is best stitched in 1 strand, especially if it’s small, to keep it neat and well defined. But it can also work well with more strands, especially if the stitch is quite large, or if you want to make a bolder statement. Let’s look at how to stich it:

1 Bring the needle up to the front of the fabric where you want the base of the petal to be (ie. A on the picture below). Then create a loop with the thread (step 1), and push the needle through to the back of the fabric in A again. Bring the needle back up to the front of the fabric where you want the tip of the petal to be (B), making sure that the needle comes up inside the thread loop (step 2):

2 Pull the needle out, making sure that you gently tighten the loop: don’t over-tighten it so that the petal has a nice oval shape. Once you’re happy with the look of the petal, push the needle back through to the back of the fabric in the next available hole (C) to pin the tip of the stitch into place:

Fancy seeing it stitched in action? Here’s a short video:

Fancy trying out your new skills? Here’s a selection of patterns to do just that:

Shall we recap?

Happy Stitching!