Buttonhole stitch and the related
blanket stitch are hand-
sewingSewing or stitching or Tailoring is the fastening of cloth, leather, furs, bark, or other flexible materials, using needle and thread. Its use is nearly universal among human populations and dates back to Paleolithic times...
stitchStitch may refer to:*Sewing, a method of securing thread into textiles**Blanket stitch, used to reinforce the edge of thick materials**Cable knitting is a style of knitting in which the order of stitches is permuted...
es used in
tailorA tailor is a person whose occupation is to sew and scissor menswear style jackets and the skirts or trousers that go with them.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits,...
ing,
embroideryEmbroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
, and
needle laceNeedle lace is a type of lace created using a needle and thread to stitch up hundreds of small stitches to form the lace itself....
-making.
Buttonhole stitches catch a loop of the thread on the surface of the fabric and needle is returned to the back of the fabric at a right angle to the original start of the thread. The finished stitch in some ways resembles a letter "L" depending on the spacing of the stitches.
Buttonhole stitch and the related
blanket stitch are hand-
sewingSewing or stitching or Tailoring is the fastening of cloth, leather, furs, bark, or other flexible materials, using needle and thread. Its use is nearly universal among human populations and dates back to Paleolithic times...
stitchStitch may refer to:*Sewing, a method of securing thread into textiles**Blanket stitch, used to reinforce the edge of thick materials**Cable knitting is a style of knitting in which the order of stitches is permuted...
es used in
tailorA tailor is a person whose occupation is to sew and scissor menswear style jackets and the skirts or trousers that go with them.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits,...
ing,
embroideryEmbroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
, and
needle laceNeedle lace is a type of lace created using a needle and thread to stitch up hundreds of small stitches to form the lace itself....
-making.
Buttonhole stitches catch a loop of the thread on the surface of the fabric and needle is returned to the back of the fabric at a right angle to the original start of the thread. The finished stitch in some ways resembles a letter "L" depending on the spacing of the stitches. For buttonholes the stitches are tightly packed together and for blanket edges they are more spaced out. The properties of this stitch make it ideal for preventing raveling of woven fabric.
Buttonhole stitches are structurally similar to
featherstitchFeatherstitch or feather stitch and Cretan stitch or faggoting stitch are embroidery techniques made of open, looped stitches worked alternately to the right and left of a central rib...
es.
Applications
In addition to reinforcing
buttonholeButtonholes are holes in fabric that are paired with functional buttons that serve as fasteners. Buttonholes may be either made by hand sewing or automated by a sewing machine...
s and preventing cut fabric from raveling, buttonhole stitches are used to make stems in
crewel embroideryCrewel Embroidery, or Crewelwork, is a decorative form of surface embroidery using wool and a variety of different embroidery stitches to follow a design outline applied to the fabric. The technique is at least a thousand years old...
, to make sewn eyelets, to attach
appliqueIn its broadest sense, an applique or appliqué is a smaller ornament or device applied to another surface. In the context of ceramics, for example, an appliqué is a separate piece of clay added to the primary work, generally for the purpose of decoration...
to ground fabric, and as couching stitches. Buttonhole stitch scallops, usually raised or padded by rows of straight or
chain stitchChain stitch is a sewing and embroidery technique in which a series of looped stitches form a chain-like pattern. Chain stitch is an ancient craft - examples of surviving Chinese chain stitch embroidery worked in silk thread have been dated to the Warring States period...
es, were a popular edging in the 19th century.
Buttonhole stitches are also used in
cutworkCutwork or cut work is a needlework technique in which portions of a textile are cut away and the resulting "hole" is reinforced and filled with embroidery or needle lace.Cutwork is a related to drawn thread work...
, including
Broderie AnglaiseBroderie Anglaise is a whitework needlework technique incorporating features of embroidery, cutwork and needle lace that arose in England in the 19th century....
, and form the basis for many forms of needlelace.
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
- Crossed buttonhole stitch, in which the tops of the stitch cross
- Detached buttonhole stitch, in which rows of buttonhole stiches are worked to form a "floating" filling stitch
- Buttonhole shading, in which rows of buttonhole stitch are sewn in related colors to give a naturalistic shaded effect
- Buttonhole stitches combined with knots include:
- Top knotted buttonhole stitch
- German knotted buttonhole stitch
- Tailor's buttonhole stitch
- Armenian edging stitch
Buttonhole bars are parallel rows of thread laid across an open space in lace or cutwork and then completely covered with closely space buttonhole stitches.