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Learn the Chain Stitch for Hand Embroidery - Slow Stitching for Beginners
Jun 13, 2026
The chain stitch is one of the most beautiful and versatile embroidery
stitches you can learn — and in this tutorial I'll show you exactly how
to do it, nice and slowly, step by step, right inside your slow stitch book.
What we'll cover:
🧵 How to prepare your thread and needle
🧵 The chain stitch technique, broken down nice and slowly
🧵 Tips for keeping your loops neat and even
All you need is some fabric, a needle, and a little thread —
nothing fancy, nothing expensive. Just have a play and enjoy the process.
📖 MAKE YOUR SLOW STITCH BOOK : https://youtu.be/8zCLRJG1lIc
🧵 STEM STITCH TUTORIAL: https://youtu.be/S4wr_nDdCxs
🧵 RUNNING STITCH TUTORIAL: https://youtu.be/srNTh1ZrIO8
🧵 BLANKET STITCH TUTORIAL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofnBmni1k4o
If you give this a go I'd love to hear how you get on —
leave a comment below and let me know which stitch you'd like to see next!
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
So, let me share with you some chain
0:02
stitches that I've done here in the
0:03
shape of a star.
0:05
Chain stitches, we tend to think of, you
0:06
know, there's one thing to do with it,
0:08
but actually you can do anything you
0:09
want. You could sew fabric down with it.
0:11
You can use it for embroidery. I think
0:13
it's a beautiful stitch. And what I'm
0:14
going to do today is show you how to do
0:17
the chain stitch yourself. So, you're
0:18
going to need a needle, preferably an
0:20
embroidery needle, or at least one where
0:21
the eye is big enough for the thread to
0:23
go through.
0:24
And we'll work on chain stitches just
0:26
like those,
0:28
but they're going to be in a straight
0:29
line on here.
0:30
So, the first thing you're going to need
0:31
is embroidery thread. Now, that's just
0:34
supposed to pull through, but you know,
0:35
sometimes they don't. I can't be the
0:37
only person that happens to.
0:39
If that happens to you, let me know in
0:41
the comments below um what it is we're
0:43
doing wrong when that happens to us. I
0:45
suspect it's just pulling the wrong end.
0:48
Anyway, you can use your embroidery
0:49
thread as it is, or as I often do, you
0:52
can divide it.
0:54
So, just divide it into three separate
0:56
strands,
0:58
and then take hold of those in one hand,
1:02
and run the finger from your other hand
1:04
down. Now, you should be holding this
1:05
vertically, and then the end can dangle
1:08
free and twist. And it's very
1:10
successful. Now, you can see I'm having
1:12
trouble trying to do it horizontally
1:13
today, so I won't bore you with it as I
1:16
sort that out. We'll just magically have
1:19
the thread done.
1:20
So, then you need to thread your needle.
1:22
You can wet the end and stick it
1:24
through, or as I do, wrap it tightly
1:26
around the needle, and then push that
1:28
through.
1:29
You want a long tail and a short tail.
1:32
The long tail wants a knot in the end,
1:34
and if you do one and it doesn't really
1:36
look big enough,
1:37
just do another.
1:39
And then you're ready to start.
1:43
And to start, sorry about rocking it
1:46
around. This is a problem of having your
1:47
camera near where you're working. When
1:49
you get all the
1:51
pulling it around with the knot, it can
1:52
jiggle the camera. Anyway, come up where
1:55
you want to start your stitching.
2:00
And then you're going to go back down
2:03
through the same place.
2:06
Okay? Back through the same hole.
2:09
But do not pull the thread all the way
2:12
through. You're going to keep a loop.
2:14
You can see I've got that loop around my
2:15
thumb.
2:17
Then come up as far along as the length
2:19
you want your stitch
2:22
and go through the loop. Now, it's up to
2:24
you how long that stitch is.
2:27
Get creative.
2:29
And then you're going to go back down
2:31
through the hole you've come out of,
2:33
which is still inside that loop.
2:36
Again, hold onto your loop. Come up as
2:39
far along as you want your stitch to be.
2:44
And then through that loop.
2:49
And on we go.
2:51
And we're going to keep repeating that.
2:54
So, you're going to go back down through
2:57
the same hole you came out of.
3:02
Keep hold of the loop.
3:05
Come up as far along as you want your
3:06
stitch to be.
3:10
If I can get it through.
3:12
And then through the loop.
3:15
And we're going to keep going doing
3:16
that. Now, don't pull it too tight. You
3:19
want that little loop. You want it to
3:20
look like chain.
3:22
Don't leave it so loose that it it looks
3:24
untidy, but don't pull it too tight.
3:28
And
3:29
sometimes what can happen is your thread
3:31
starts to get a bit twisted and your
3:34
loops twist up. And if so, just let the
3:36
needle dangle so that it the what the
3:39
the wind
3:41
Gosh, where's my brain? So, that the
3:43
thread untwists.
3:46
Okay? And then you can carry on.
3:49
And it's a lovely stitch to do. And
3:52
don't be afraid to use it as an outline
3:54
stitch or on curves or as I say you can
3:58
use it so your fabric down and your slow
4:00
stitching book. I've used it like that.
4:02
It's just a great little stitch.
4:06
And
4:07
if you're thinking of doing a slow
4:09
stitching book and you've never done one
4:10
before or you're intrigued
4:13
I've got a video which I'll put on the
4:14
description below and on the screen um
4:18
that shows you how I make mine. There
4:20
are lots of ways of doing it but I like
4:22
to work on separate pages like this
4:25
and then assemble it into a book. A lot
4:27
of people make a book
4:29
and then
4:31
slow stitch in it. But this is the way I
4:33
quite like to do it. It means I can just
4:35
take a page and a few bits of embroidery
4:38
thread out with me and sew wherever I
4:40
am.
4:41
Um I don't have to take the whole
4:42
project.
4:44
And as I'm sure you can see on here I'm
4:46
doing a series of Ah, did you see? Got
4:49
my my thread twisted up there and I'm
4:51
having to just make sure it's not
4:52
twisted. You don't want a twisted loop.
4:56
Anyway, I was saying that I'm doing a
4:58
series of these stitches. So if you're
5:00
looking for the running stitch and the
5:01
stem stitch
5:03
they came before the chain stitch. If
5:04
you're looking for the others I've got
5:06
on there, so I'm definitely going to be
5:07
doing the back stitch
5:09
some French knots, satin stitch, cross
5:13
stitch.
5:14
They may or may not be in the series but
5:16
if you subscribe
5:18
now and hit the notifications
5:21
you will get to know when they all come
5:23
live. So you can learn all these
5:24
different stitches and see how I'm using
5:26
them.
5:27
Also, this book that I'm working on, I
5:29
will do a video on that when it's
5:31
complete so you can have a little look
5:33
through at what I included in mine.
5:36
So I've sped this bit up because you
5:39
know, I think you've got the hang of it
5:40
now but I would like to show you how I
5:42
finished at the end.
5:45
So I'll just keep going. You can see my
5:47
thread's getting shorter. Gets a little
5:49
bit more of a challenge. So, you'll
5:51
might end up just changing your thread.
5:53
So, I'm going to go down as normal, and
5:56
I'm going to come up right where I want
5:58
my stitching to finish.
6:01
And go through my loop, exactly as
6:02
normal.
6:04
And then to finish, I'm going to go back
6:06
down, but I'm going to go over that
6:08
thread
6:10
so that it uh holds it in place.
6:13
Just to secure it right on the end.
6:17
And then onto the back, and you can just
6:20
weave through those stitches to secure
6:23
it.
6:24
Or you could do put it through the
6:25
stitch, and then make a little knot by
6:27
going through the loop. It's entirely up
6:29
to you.
6:30
And then just cut off your thread.
6:33
And there you go. You've mastered the
6:35
chain stitch, and I hope you're going to
6:36
use it in lots of embroidery projects.
6:39
So, happy stitching.
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