The Leaf Stitch is a great filling stitch, especially for leaves! It can also be used to fill other shapes and can be used as a border for a light effect, when the stitches are sewn end to end.
How to Embroider the Leaf Stitch
The leaf stitch is a variation on the fly stitch, sewing the stitches together and starting with narrower stitches, then go wider and then end with narrower stitches again - forming a leaf shape.
Materials
- Fabric for embroidery
- Embroidery thread or floss
Tools
- Embroidery hoop
- Embroidery needle suitable for the thread or floss selected
- Embroidery scissors
- Removable fabric marker, I used a Frixion pen
Instructions
- Start by hooping your fabric. Using a hoop helps keep your fabric taut, making it easier to have nice stitches that are't puckered.
Next, using a removable fabric marker, draw your leaf shape. NOTE: Always test your fabric marker on a scrap of fabric first to make sure it is easily removed.
Here is my leaf shape.
- Thread you needle and bring it up at the top of your leaf (See A). Make a small stitch to form that first stitch (down at B). Now we will be doing fly stitches for the rest of the leaf. Bring your needle up at C, down at D, making a loop around the needle with your thread and going back down at B.
- Now we make another stitch, forming the center vein in the leaf (down at E), then up at F
- Next take your needle down at G, and up at E.
- We do this again, take a little stitch to H, up at I.
- Then needle down at J, back up at H looping the thread around your needle.
- Continue with the process of take a little stitch for the vein of the leaf, up to the left,
down to the right, back up at the end of the stitch looping your thread around your needle and make another small stitch.
Follow the outside line that you drew for your leaf for bringing your needle up and down from left to right to form the leaf shape. - Continue this to the end of your leaf. You will take one more little stitch to form the stem of your leaf.
- Here is the finished leaf still with the markings.
- Since I used a Frixion pen to mark my fabric, I took my sampler to the ironing board, a little zap of steam and my markings are gone. Here is the finished leaf stitch.
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Here is another way to make the leaf stitch, with overlapping stitches, forming a more intricate center vein on the leaf. This method of the leaf stitch is a variation of the fishbone stitch. Start by marking four parallel lines on your work. We’ll start by doing this straight, then do it in a leaf shape. Bring your needle up at A, down at B and back up at C.
Next, take your needle down at D and up at E. See how the threads are beginning to overlap in the center?
Insert the needle at F, and bring it back up at G.
Continue going back and forth until your shape or line is completed.
Here is a final sample of stitching the leaf stitch in a straight line.
Now to do the leaf stitch in a leaf shape. Draw a leaf shape, with two internal parallel lines to guide stitching. Bring the needle up at the base of the leaf A, insert the needle on the right side of the leaf B and back up at internal left line C.
Insert your needle at D, the left side of the leaf, and back up at E.
Insert your needle in the right side of the leaf F, and back up at G.
Continue stitching side to side until the leaf is all stitched. Here is the sample still with the markings. I like to use a Frixiron pen to mark on fabrics, as it is easily removed with a hot iron. Always test your fabrics before marking.
Here is the final sample, after removing markings, of the leaf stitch in both a straight line and in a leaf shape.
Check out all of the embroidery tutorials on Create Whimsy!
