In most places in Greece this stitch is known as "byzantine stitch" or "dense byzantine stitch" although it is known as "close Cretan stitch". It is used in free form embroidery to fill in several shapes, like leaves, flower petals, etc. The visual effect of this stitch is really impressive and looks like a wave of threads.
Instructions
1. Lets suppose you want to fill in the following shape using the byzantine stitch.
2. To make the stitches more symmetrical, it is suggested to draw a line in the middle of the shape you want to fill.
3. Bring your needle out from point 1 and pull the thread until the knot reaches the fabric.
4. Take the needle through point 2 and then out again through point 3. The distance between 2 and 3 is about 1/3 of the distance between 2 and 1. Try to keep the points 1,2 and 3 in straight line.
5. Pull the needle put, passing it above the thread.
6. Stretch the thread gently.
7. Take the needle in through point 4 and out through point 5. Keep the needle above the thread, passing it inside the loop.
8. Pull the thread out
9. Stretch the thread gently.
10. Take the needle in through point 6 and out through point 7. Keep the needle above the thread, passing it inside the loop.
11. Pull the thread and stretch gently.
12. Take the needle in through point 8 and out through point 9 passing the needle inside the loop. Pull and stretch gently.
13. Examine the sticth from a different point of view: Take the needle in through point 8 and out through point 9 passing the needle inside the loop. Pull and stretch gently.
14. Keep up with this process, trying to make each stitch adjacent to each other. The final result will be as shown.
Instructions
1. Lets suppose you want to fill in the following shape using the byzantine stitch.
2. To make the stitches more symmetrical, it is suggested to draw a line in the middle of the shape you want to fill.
3. Bring your needle out from point 1 and pull the thread until the knot reaches the fabric.
4. Take the needle through point 2 and then out again through point 3. The distance between 2 and 3 is about 1/3 of the distance between 2 and 1. Try to keep the points 1,2 and 3 in straight line.
5. Pull the needle put, passing it above the thread.
6. Stretch the thread gently.
7. Take the needle in through point 4 and out through point 5. Keep the needle above the thread, passing it inside the loop.
8. Pull the thread out
9. Stretch the thread gently.
10. Take the needle in through point 6 and out through point 7. Keep the needle above the thread, passing it inside the loop.
11. Pull the thread and stretch gently.
12. Take the needle in through point 8 and out through point 9 passing the needle inside the loop. Pull and stretch gently.
13. Examine the sticth from a different point of view: Take the needle in through point 8 and out through point 9 passing the needle inside the loop. Pull and stretch gently.
14. Keep up with this process, trying to make each stitch adjacent to each other. The final result will be as shown.
Byzantine stitch samples
- A hand-embroidered sample from Greece
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| The shapes were filled with byzantine stitches. |
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| Detail |
- Contemporary embroidery sample
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| Fillings with byzantine stitch, Designer/maker: Anna Bonarou |
Very nice explanation and tutorial, thanks a lot for sharing this. Makes my life easier from now on :)
ReplyDeleteVery nice i love embroidery and my mom do hand embroidery when she have free time ...
ReplyDeleteSilk Digitizing
Thank you for showing what are complex byzantine stitches. I am new to hand embroidery.
ReplyDeleteSerena from Absolute Digitizing