Buttonhole stitch and the related blanket stitch are hand-
sewing
Sewing is the craft of fastening pieces of textiles together using a sewing needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fabric, archaeo ...
stitches used in
tailor
A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century.
History
Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...
ing,
embroidery
Embroidery is the art of decorating Textile, fabric or other materials using a Sewing needle, needle to stitch Yarn, thread or yarn. It is one of the oldest forms of Textile arts, textile art, with origins dating back thousands of years across ...
, and
needle lace-making.
Applications
Traditionally, this stitch has been used to secure the edges of buttonholes.
In addition to reinforcing
buttonhole
A buttonhole is a reinforced hole in fabric that a Button (clothing), button can pass through, allowing one piece of fabric to be secured to another. The raw edges of a buttonhole are usually finished with stitching. This may be done either by ha ...
s and preventing cut fabric from raveling, buttonhole stitches are used to make stems in
crewel embroidery, to make sewn eyelets, to attach
applique to ground fabric, and as
couching stitches.
Buttonhole stitch scallops, usually raised or padded by rows of straight or
chain stitches, were a popular edging in the 19th century. Buttonhole stitches are also used in
cutwork, including
Broderie Anglaise
Broderie anglaise (French, "English embroidery", ) is a Whitework embroidery, whitework needlework technique incorporating features of embroidery, cutwork and needle lace that became associated with England, due to its popularity there in the 19 ...
, and form the basis for many forms of
needlelace. This stitch is well represented on 16th- and 17th-century whitework items. The buttonhole stitch appeared on the Jane Bostocke sampler (1598) which is the earliest, signed sampler known to date and is presently housed in the
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...
in London.
Variants
Examples of buttonhole or blanket stitches include:
*Blanket stitch
*Buttonhole stitch
*Closed buttonhole stitch, in which the tops of the stitch touch to form triangles
Image:Detached buttonhole stitch.gif, Detached buttonhole stitch
Image:Tailors buttonhole stitch.jpg, Tailor's buttonhole stitch
Image:Buttonhole variations.jpg, Buttonhole stitch variations
Image:Buttonhole shading.gif, Buttonhole shading
See also
*
Embroidery stitch
References
Other References
*Virginia Churchill Bath, ''Needlework in America'', Viking Press, 1979
*S.F.A. Caulfield and B.C. Saward, ''The Dictionary of Needlework'', 1885.
*Mrs. Archibald Christie. ''Samplers and Stitches, a handbook of the embroiderer's art'', London 1920, 1989 facsimile: Batsford, .
External links
*
{{sewing
Embroidery stitches
Sewing stitches