Basket Stitch Embroidery Tutorial

The Basket Stitch - Beautiful, Versatile Embroidery Stitch

What is the basket stitch?

The basket stitch is a beautiful hand embroidery stitch known for its woven, basket-like texture.  It's a solid filling embroidery stitch, ideal for adding depth and interest to an embroidery project. 

On the front, it features interlacing diagonal threads that create a textured, woven, braided appearance.  On the back side, it resembles a series of parallel stitches.

This versatile stitch is perfect for filling in spaces.  Use it for tree branches, wide flower stems, bold block letters, borders or anywhere a textured fill is needed.  

The basket stitch pattern works well on both plain weave or even weave fabrics such as aida cloth, cotton, linen and silk.  It can be stitched using embroidery floss, perle cotton, silk and similar materials.

While it's easiest to work in a straight line, it can also be used on gentle curves.  However, it is not well-suited for sharply curved lines.

Want to learn other embroidery stitches? Needlepointers.com offers a large collection of excellent tutorials of hand embroidery stitches, from the basics of the chain stitch to the more advanced stitches such as the double herringbone stitch.

Learn how to stitch the basket stitch by watching our video lesson or following the step-by-step tutorial with detailed photos below.

INSTRUCTIONS :

For this tutorial, aida cloth will be used because its evenly spaced holes make it perfect for learning embroidery stitches.  The grid-like pattern clearly shows where to insert your needle, making it easy to follow along to practice the basket stitch.

If you practice on plain weave fabric instead, you may want to draw two vertical parallel lines as a stitching guide.

STEP 1: prepare fabric and needle

Begin by placing your fabric in an embroidery hoop to keep it taut and stable as you stitch. 

Select the desired embroidery floss or thread and cut a length about 14 to 18 inches long.  Thread your needle and either tie a small knot at the end or leave a short tail on the back of the fabric to weave in as you stitch.

STEP 2: Make the First stitch

Refer to the basket stitch diagram and the step-by-step instructions with detailed photos as you work through the stitch.

Bring the threaded needle up from the back of the fabric at the point where you'd like your first stitch to begin, which is Point A on the diagram. Count over four holes to the right and two holes down, then insert the needle at that point (Point B) and pull the thread through to the back of the fabric.

You have now completed the first diagonal stitch of the basket stitch.

STEP 3: create the second stitch

From the back of the fabric, bring the needle up at Point C, which is four holes directly to the left from the last stitch (Point B) and directly two holes below Point A.Pull the floss through.Then, insert the needle to the right one hole directly above Point B, and pull the floss to the back (Diagram Point D).This completes your second stitch, which, like the first stitch, is diagonal.

STEP 4: Stitch the Third stitch

Bring the needle up from the back at Point E, which is directly to the left of Point D and between A and C.

Now insert the needle diagonally down in Point F, which is one hole below Point B.

Pull the floss through.  The third diagonal stitch is complete.

STEP 5: continue the weaving pattern

Next, to do the fourth stitch, bring the needle up at Point G, which is four holes to the left of Point F and aligned horizontally.

Now insert the needle down through the same hole as Point B (now also Point H on the diagram).

Pull the floss to the back and then bring the needle up in the same hole as Point C, which also serves as Point I.Pull the floss to the front.

At this point, the woven appearance of the basket stitch will begin to show.

STEP 7: Finishing off the basket stitch

Once you've completed your area or run out of thread, turn the work over and weave the thread into the back of the completed stitches to secure it.  Trim off any excess thread.

The basket stitch is now complete!  The back will display a tidy pattern of parallel lines.

While the front will reveal a lovely, braid-like weave effect. This stitch is a great way to add interest and solid texture to your embroidery projects.

Upon mastering this basic basket stitch, you can vary the spacing of the stitches (height and width) to accommodate gently curved shapes like tree branches, flower stems, circles and more.

I hope you enjoyed learning this lovely stitch, and I encourage you to incorporate it into your embroidery projects.

Happy Stitching!

  

more hand embroidery stitch tutorials

• Cable Stitch
• Chevron Stitch
• Feather Stitch
• French Knot
• And many more