Needlepoint Stitch Library
A decorative needlepoint stitch library with fun stitches that feature in Poppy Monk needlepoint kits. Get creative with needlepoint stitches that add a little something extra to your needlework.
Stitches appear in alphabetical order.
Alicia's Lace Variation Needlepoint Stitch
This is a very pretty stitch that works well on flowers and landscape features, or anywhere some repeatable texture seems like a good idea. Work the stitch in 3 parts starting with the black numbers, then the red numbers, then the green letters.
Kits this stitch is used in:
Stitch Chart for Alicia's Lace Variation Needlepoint Stitch:
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Alternating Mosaic Stitch
The background of this Daisies design is stitched in Alternating Mosaic. It forms a diamond-shaped pattern and fits in small to large areas.
This stitch is best worked in two parts—stitch all the Mosaic stitches going in one direction (the numbers on the chart), and then stitch all the "alternating" stitches (the letters on the chart). Alternatively, you can stitch it in rows, alternating the stitch directions as you go.
Kits this stitch is found in:
NB: We stitched the Vase of Flowers using a modified Alternating Mosaic—we only stitched the "numbered" rows and left the "lettered" rows open. Here's what that looks like...
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Alternating Cashmere Needlepoint Stitch
The background on this design is Alternating Cashmere. It makes great "wallpaper" and goes anywhere a boxy large-ish texture stitch will fit. We have filled the gaps with a Cross Stitch in the same thread, but you could also use a contrasting thread and /or a Tent stitch.
Kits this stitch is used in:
Stitch Chart for Alternating Cashmere Needlepoint Stitch:
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Alternating Continental Stitch for Needlepoint
The yellow flowers are stitched in Alternating Continental which is a great little needlepoint stitch for small areas. It forms a diamond pattern which looks like a carpet! Follow the stitch diagram to get the best result.
Kits this stitch is used in:
Stitch Chart for Alternating Continental Needlepoint Stitch:
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Balloon Stitch
This is a fun background or filler stitch and it can lie horizontally, as shown, or vertically. It's a great stitch for round objects.
Kits this stitch is used in:
Shakespeare (shown)
Stitch Chart for Needlepoint Balloon Stitch:
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Bargello Wave Pattern
Kits this pattern is used in:
Cutting Garden
Brick Stitch
This is a great background or filler stitch and it can lie vertically, as shown, or horizontally.
Kits this stitch is used in:
Stitch Chart for Needlepoint Brick Stitch:
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Buttonhole Stitch
The Buttonhole stitch is closely related to the Blanket stitch. We have used it to create small flowers. See the Cornflower flowers on the image below.
It is a common embroidery stitch and not used so much in needlepoint. The best explanation we could source for how to do the Buttonhole stitch in needlepoint is in Piecework Magazine.
Kits this stitch is used in:
Cutting Garden
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Byzantine Stitch #2
A stitch that adds texture to any situation. Great for flowers, clothes, and landscapes. in fact, almost any space, big or small.
Kits this stitch is used in:
Stitch Chart for Needlepoint Byzantine #2:
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Cashmere Stitch
Cashmere is a boxy stitch and probably best in small-medium sized areas. It's great for borders and architectural or geometric objects.
Kits this stitch is used in:
Stitch Chart for Needlepoint Cashmere Stitch:
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Chain Stitch
Basic Chain Stitch Technique
- Bring the needle up through the fabric at #1.
- Insert the needle back down into the same hole (#2), BUT...
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Before pulling the thread all the way through, bring the needle back up a short distance away along your stitching line (#3), inside the loop formed by the thread.
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Gently pull the thread to tighten the loop against the fabric. Repeat these steps, always inserting the needle inside the previous loop.
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Corduroy Stitch
Needlepoint corduroy stitch resembles what its name suggests and so it is the perfect stitch choice for clothing, including this sweater. It's also a great stitch for hills and mountains.
Kits this stitch is used in:
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Criss-Cross Hungarian Stitch
The darker blue flowers are stitched in Criss-Cross Hungarian stitch which is a heavily textured needlepoint stitch that does not show a direction so it's handy for overall patterns.
Kits this stitch is used in:
Stitch Chart for Needlepoint Criss-Cross Hungarian:
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Cobblestone Stitch
The pink flowers are stitched in Cobblestone stitch which is a lightly textured needlepoint stitch for small spaces
Kits this stitch is used in:
Stitch Chart for Needlepoint Cobblestone Stitch:
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Damask Stitch
The blue flowers in this Botanical Flowers design get texture from the Damask stitch. It is a good filler stitch for small and large spaces. The Damask stitch has a direction so angle it the way you want the direction to "flow".
Kits this stitch is used in:
Stitch Chart for Needlepoint Damask Stitch:
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Diagonal Mosaic
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Diagonal Scotch
This is a great background or filler stitch. It is directionless and forms a pretty pattern.
Kits this stitch is used in:
Stitch Chart for Needlepoint Diagonal Scotch Stitch:
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Diagonal Triple Parisian Stitch
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Diamond Leaves Stitch
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Dotted Lace Stitch
This is a delicate and pretty open stitch (some of the canvas shows through) that can be stitched in one color or two. It makes a great patterned background or filler stitch when you want a non-moving pattern.
This image shows the Dotted Lace stitched in two colors.
Stitch Chart for Dotted Lace:
Kits this stitch is used in:
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Double Brick Stitch
Double Brick stitch is used on the gold background of this Van Gogh Irises design. It can also lie horizontally.
Kits this stitch is used in:
Stitch Chart for Needlepoint Double Brick Stitch:
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Double Woven Stitch
Double Woven stitch is used on the paler blue flowers of this Flower Burst design. Work the stitch in horizontal rows.
Kits this stitch is used in:
Stitch Chart for Needlepoint Double Woven:
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Encroaching Gobelin Stitch (Slanted)
This sampler image is courtesy of the Royal Schools of Needlework.
This is a versatile stitch that can fit in small and large spaces to add a bit of texture. We used it on Mona Lisa's dress. It stitches up quickly.
Kits this stitch is used in:
Mona Lisa (dress)
Acadia National Park (horizontal)
Stitch Chart for Needlepoint Slanted Encroaching Gobelin:
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Eyelet Stitch
The Eyelet stitch is used on the earring in this design. All the threads lead to a central hole which forms a nicely textured circle. Read our blog post on other stitches to use when you want to stitch a circle.
Kits this stitch is used in:
Stitch Chart for Needlepoint Eyelet:
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French Knots
The best way to learn how to do a French knot is to watch a video. Remember to come up and go down in the same hole to make a nice and neat French knot in needlepoint
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Gentle Waters
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Gobelin Stitch (vertical)
The tree is stitched in Gobelin stitch over two intersections and laid vertically.
Kits this stitch is used in:
Stitch Chart for Needlepoint Gobelin:
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Hungarian Stitch (Horizontal)
This is a handy filler stitch that is usually worked vertically but we have used it horizontally where it is good for water and sky.
Kits this stitch is used in:
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Interlocking Gobelin Stitch
Also see Encroaching Gobelin on this page.
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Kalem Needlepoint Stitch
Kalem stitch looks a lot like a knitting stockinette stitch so we use it a lot for sweaters. It is worked in columns.
Kits using Kalem Stitch:
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Lazy Daisy
This is an embroidery stitch which can be used on needlepoint canvas, usually to form flowers.
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Milanese Needlepoint Stitch
This is a great background or filler stitch when you want a distinctive pattern. It is worked in diagonal rows.
Kits this stitch is used in:
Botanical Leaf needlepoint kit.
Stitch Chart for Needlepoint Milanese:
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Mosaic Needlepoint Stitch
The Mosaic Needlepoint Stitch is used on the reindeer antlers in this design. It is a great background or filler stitch when you want a flowing pattern to add texture. It works well for hills, clothing, and many filler spots.
Kits this stitch is used in:
Stitch Chart for Needlepoint Mosaic:
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Mosaic Checker
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Nobuko Needlepoint Stitch
The Nobuko stitch is a background stitch that offers lots of texture. It slants up and to the right (although you can also lean it the other way) but it doesn't have a strong direction when placed as a background or filler stitch.
Kits this stitch is used in:
Chart for Needlepoint Nobuko Stitch:
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Parisian Stitch
Kits this stitch is used in:
Parisian Stitch Variation
A traditional Parisian stitch goes long-short-long-short across a row. In this variation we have put all the long stitches in the same row and all the short stitches in the same row. The Parisian stitch, and this variation, are versatile needlepoint stitches that are staples for any stitch library because they fit almost anywhere.
The Parisian stitch and the variation can lie vertically or horizontally (image below).
Work this stitch in rows going across and back. It can also lie vertically.
Kits this stitch is used in:
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Pavilion Diamonds Stitch
This makes a great wallpaper stitch for a background or landscape feature. It consists of long stitches so it stitches up quickly. You do need some space for it to "play out".
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Rhodes Stitch (Circle)
The Rhodes stitch is a raised stitch that can form a variety of shapes. Here, we have used it on the reindeer's nose as a circle. You can work the stitch in any direction. The top stitch will be the most prominent, so start the circle with that in mind. i.e. if you want the top stitch to lay horizontally, start just beyond the horizontal and work around from there.
Kits this stitch is used in:
Chart for Needlepoint Rhodes Stitch:
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Satin Stitch
The Satin stitch is one of the most useful in decorative needlepoint stitches. We have used it several times on the pale green leaves of this Flummoxed design. It can go in any direction and has a lovely, smooth and shiny appearance when you use a single ply thread. A Satin stitch is simply long stitches that sit parallel to one another. The diagram, below, shows how to create a vertical Satin stitch. Use the same method to angle your stitches in any direction, just make sure they are parallel.
Kits this stitch is used in:
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Serendipity Stitch
The stitch on the table is Serendipity and it makes a lovely basketweave/woven-style pattern. it is a non-directional stitch so a great choice for backgrounds and small-medium size areas that don't "move".
Kits this stitch is used in:
Chart for Needlepoint Serendipity Stitch:
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Skip Cross Stitch
The background on this Olive You needlepoint kit is a Skip Cross Stitch.
This is a very pretty stitch that fits anywhere. It looks similar to the Skip Tent stitch but is a little "heartier" since it's a full cross stitch being skipped and not a half cross stitch.
Kits this stitch is used in:
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Smyrna Cross Stitch
The Smyrna Cross can be a single stitch e.g. for an earring or a square shaped object, or it can be laid down in rows which forms a pretty pattern.
Take care to follow the stitch order so that the horizontal bar is always on top.
Kits this stitch is used in:
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Staggered Straight Stitch
A very handy and easy stitch for a simple pattern. Fits in small and large spaces so is very versatile. This stitch is similar to Skip Tent except the stitches are straight. For speed, you can stitch it as a darning pattern, weaving your needle over and under the canvas (if your canvas is not on a frame).
This stitch can also be worked vertically.
Kits this stitch is used in:
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Tall Short Stitch
A versatile stitch that can slope up and to the right or left, making it a great choice for landscapes or plants that might lean different ways. It's a stitch for small and larger spaces.
The yellow flowers on Skedaddle are in Tall Short stitch...
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Tent-Cross Check Stitch
A lovely textured stitch for small spaces. It looks a bit like shrubbery, so perfect for landscapes.
Kits this stitch is used in:
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Two-Step Darning Pattern
We have called this a two-step darning pattern simply because it has two long stitches of different lengths. It provides a nice even pattern and can be used anywhere—sky and rivers come to mind. You can also work this vertically.
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Upright Cross Stitch
A closely packed stitch that is great for adding texture to small areas. Use a thinner thread if you can, or restrict this stitch to smaller areas if you can't thin your thread.
The Upright Cross stitch adds an even non-directional texture. It really does go anywhere.
Work the stitch in diagonal rows.
Kits this stitch is used in:
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Woven Stitch
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Woven Trellis Stitch
Kits this stitch is used in:
Cutting Garden