Are you looking for a truly unique and meaningful Christmas gift? Consider gifting a stitch in a loved one’s name.
You or a loved one can be the Founding Sponsor of a stitch for a one-off donation of £300. As the Founding Sponsor you will receive a special RSN Stitch Bank Adoption Certificate as well as your chosen name featured in the stitch entry on the RSN Stitch Bank website.
View below to see some of the stitches currently available to adopt as a Founding Sponsor.
The RSN is a registered charity (No. 312774) so every donation we receive means a great deal to us. We receive no government funding, so rely on your generous support to ensure hand embroidery is both preserved and developed for future generations.
US Tax payers – If you need a receipt suitable for your tax return, please donate via our US Donation Page and not via this page. Thank you.
- Please Adopt your Stitch by Wednesday 18 December to ensure your chosen name is added to the RSN Stitch Bank website and to receive your Adoption Certificate by email before Christmas.
Antique Hem Stitch
ADOPTED
This is a version of hem stitch, but rather than inserting the needle into the fabric from the back, it is hidden by inserting it into the folded hem. The stitch is worked on the reverse side (shown in the image on the left) and so only a horizontal row of stitching is visible on the front side.
This version of antique hem stitch first appears in print under the name single hem stitch in Thérèse de Dillmont’s 1886 Encyclopedia of needlework.
Brick and Cross Filling
ADOPTED
Brick and cross filling is a geometric surface stitch consisting of squares of satin stitch interspersed with large cross stitches in a chequerboard pattern.
This stitch lends itself to large motifs in Jacobean crewelwork.
This stitch first appears in print under this name in Mary Thomas’s 1936 Dictionary of embroidery stitches.
Cable Stitch (Pulled Thread)
This pulled work stitch consists of rows of bricked straight stitches, worked twice to create a slightly embellished effect. It can be worked along the grain or at a diagonal slant. When worked along the grain it is similar to double stitch filling, although the rows of stitches are worked more closely together.
Casalguidi Stitch
ADOPTED
This stitch is a version of raised stem band worked over a heavily padded version of trailing which gives a solid, raised line.
As its name suggests, it is part of the Casalguidi technique, a late 19th/early 20th century whitework technique from Tuscany. It is sometimes known by the descriptive name of padded raised stem band.
Couching with Two Threads (Beadwork)
Several beads are threaded onto one needle and a different needle and thread is used to couch between the beads so that they are secured in place.
Double Buttonhole Bars
Double buttonhole bars are narrow thread structures which are worked across a void. A widely-spaced buttonhole stitch is worked across the thread base, and then a second row of buttonhole stitch is worked from the other side of the bar, between the ‘legs’ of the first row. This results in a bar which has a raised edge on both sides; see buttonhole bars for a version with a raised edge on just one side.
The bars can be woven over threads from the ground fabric (where most of the fabric has been cut away), or over threads which have been stitched across the void.
Double Herringbone Stitch (Variation)
This version of double herringbone stitch differs very slightly from the original version. Both consist of two interlocking rows of herringbone stitch, in this version the legs of the herringbone cross in a different pattern which requires the working thread to be taken under previous parts of the stitch, rather than lying on top. This version is recommended as the basis for interlaced herringbone band, its insertion version (interlacing insertion stitch) and twisted lattice band (the latter two will feature in future RSN Stitch Bank releases).
Elizabethan Back Stitch (Variation)
This filling stitch is a variation of Elizabethan back stitch filling which gathers pairs of ladder rungs into a herringbone pattern. It is often worked around Elizabethan ladder stitch. A coloured passing is used here to show the filling clearly.
We are indebted to Jacqui Carey for her work in identifying this stitch in extant Elizabethan pieces, and diligent documenting of the working method. See the References sections for details of her books which describe this and many other Elizabethan stitches. N.B. the names used are descriptive names assigned by Jacqui Carey as historic records do not give us the names by which they were known.
Griffin Stitch
ADOPTED
This open filling stitch is an intricate trellis stitch. It is made up of both square and diagonal trellises, tied where the diagonals cross and embellished with interlaced circles where the uprights and the diagonals cross each other.
This stitch first appears in print in the 1970s but it is unclear where the name originates.
Pearl Stitch (Variation)
ADOPTED
This variation of pearl stitch is a line stitch of evenly spaced triangles, created by looping alternate stitches through each other.
It is believed that this stitch is a development of the version of pearl stitch which closely resembles a string of pearls. The circumstances of this divergence is unclear, although it would seem likely that it was after the publication of Mrs Christie’s 1920 book, Samplers and Stitches which clearly documents the original version.
Short Pile Stitch
This canvaswork stitch consists of two buttonhole stitches worked in opposite directions into the weft of the fabric. One of the buttonhole stitches leaves a loop which can either be cut to form a piled surface or left as a loop. The nature of the stitch means that each stitch is secure and so it is easy to change threads.
Short Pile Stitch (Variation 1)
This canvaswork stitch is formed by a looping the thread around the warp and under the weft of the canvas. It leaves a loop on the surface which can either be cut to form a piled surface or left as a loop.
Short Pile Stitch (Variation 2)
This canvaswork stitch consists of two straight stitches worked vertically to anchor a loop on the surface. The loops can either be cut to form a piled surface or left as loops.
This stitch is unsurprisingly similar to both short pile stitch and short pile stitch (variation 1). It dates from the late 19th century and first appears in print in 1900.
View More Stitches Available to Adopt
Donate to RSN Stitch Bank
The RSN Stitch Bank aims to be a ‘world directory’ of stitch and digitally conserve and preserve every stitch in the world, becoming the biggest repository of stitch in the world.
Stitches from history have been lost because they fall out of use. Textiles and the knowledge of stitches throughout the world continue to be threatened by wars and other disturbances, as well as changes in manufacturing processes.
RSN Stitch Bank is available online, at no cost, to all stitchers, tutors, curators, historians, researchers and students around the world. Stitchers can find new stitches to use in a project and learn how to make it using videos, written instructions, illustrations and photographs for each stitch. Researchers, curators, historians and students can use the site to learn about the use, structure and history of each stitch in a range of embroidery techniques and to identify a stitch on a textile.