Stitching 101
, by Mercedes Corapi, 2 min reading time
The first thing you're going to want to learn when starting your first canvas is how to do a tent stitch. A tent stitch is the most basic stitch you are going to learn but also the most use as it is the foundation for many other stitches. There are 3 types of tent stitches, continental, basketweave, and half-cross. All 3 provide different levels of coverage.
What I think is the most useful stitch to learn is the continental stitch. I learned how to continental stitch from watching different YouTube videos but the one thing that made it stick for me was remembering: "Arizona to Maine or Maine to Arizona". When starting in continental start in the upper right corner of your project and work your way down the row to the left going "Arizona to Maine". When you have reached the end of that row and want to go right starting on the next row do the reverse and stitch "Maine to Arizona". Continental would rate as a medium for coverage and for the amount of thread used.
Basketweave is preferred by most stitchers and took me a while to master but once it clicked in my head it is all I prefer to do when it comes to large backgrounds or areas of one color to cover. The stitches are worked diagonally which creates the strongest canvas which is recommended for a project when you are making something that will get a lot of wear and tear like a belt or pillow. When stitching in basketweave you are always going to be stitching "Arizona to Maine" and it is easiest to start in the top right corner similarly as well. What you will need to be aware of when stitching in basketweave are the steps and poles. This is how you will know if you are stitching up or down diagonally. What helped me remember what direction to stitch in was "Chutes and Ladders, Down the Poles and Up the Steps". Basketweave would rate as high for coverage and high for the amount of thread used.
Half-cross is not often used by many but it has its purposes and is great when you are low on thread and only have a few stitches left. Half-cross is the easiest to remember since you start in the top left corner and stitch left to right. From left to right you are stitching "Arizona to Maine". Half-cross would rate low for coverage and low for the amount of thread used
