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I decided to have a break from my second ever project to make my mum a birthday card and I can't get to grips with backstitching! I've watched some You Tube clips and spent the evening trying, unpicking and trying again. It just looks awful. So now I'm not enjoying it and have put it away! Off to the shops to buy a proper card!!

Dont give up, he's too cute to give up on
Maybe we can help....can you do a little bit and let us have a look? Lots of good advice on this forum and we love to help!

I agree with Calico. Let's take a look at what you're doing and we'll see what the problem is. Backstitching isn't my favorite part of stitching, but it sure can make the design pop and come to life. And it could be that there's nothing wrong with what you're doing, other than maybe looking at it too closely.

Looking at what you have done so far, I am going to assume that the backstitching does not really follow the edge of the bear. Look like little spikes sticking out all over the place? That don't necessarily start/ stop in a fabric hole?

Heres my trick for those.. start those in the body of the bear. Hide your tails in the back side of the body of the bear, do a long stitch to the end of the spike and then come back to where you started from and run it under the back of a few body stitches to anchor it and get you to the starting point of the next stitch.

If I have to do backstitch that doesn't follow the grid pattern, I'll do a long stitch until my line does cross a hole. For example a 1 over and 3 up diagonal- I do that as one stitch, not 3 separate diagonal stitches.

When its a straight line of backstitch, I do go hole to hole.
123456
Up at 2
Down at 1
Up at 3
Down at 2
Up at 4
Down at 3....

Good Luck

We all start off unable to backstitch! just do us a little bit near the edge to look at and we will instantly know.

A link to a pic of how its supposed to be finished would help too!

http://www.sewandso.co.uk/Products/Happ ... RC220.aspx" target="_blank

Link above for the finished look!

I tried starting with the head, but I couldn't get it looking round, tried doing bigger stitches, little stitches, but it just didn't look like a head (!)

Its strange, but after working on a big project, I thought a little piece in between to break it up would be fun, but I didn't enjoy this at all and just wanted to get back to my original project!

I might try again tonight after work.....although my mum's Birthday is Saturday! (My son said to draw around it with a pen!)

Thank you all.

I'm currently working on a project for someone else and it includes this sort of outlining. It's not actually backstitch at all, of course, but it you view it as a straight stitch it might all become clearer.

Look at your pattern very carefully, and you'll begin to see that the outline stitch will begin in one corner of the Aida (just like you'd expect). Follow the line on the design, until it goes into another corner of the Aida and put in your stitch. Sometimes it will skirt corners of stitched blocks, but that's ok. Sometimes it will follow a "back stitch" pattern, and go from block to block. Generally, you'll find yourself taking one stitch from the top and followed by one stitch up from the bottom in a kind of looping motion. It uses a lot of thread! And it's more "in your face" than an outline using backstitch, as well as looking (to me, anyway) slightly untidy, but step away from the design, and it all becomes much nicer.

I was bamboozled when I first had to do this sort of stitching. Perhaps try playing with straight stitch on a scrap bit of fabric? Once I "got it", it became much less frustrating.

It looks like backstitch to me.


Where do you live? Are you near anyone that can help? Or would you like to do a skype call where you can see how to do it, and we can watch you?

[There is also a stitch called Holbein stitch, which is like two running stitch rows, used in blackwork. You go out to give you a broken line, then come back along the same line but filling in the gaps. However I don't want to confuse the issue, and everyone should learn to backstitch, otherwise its quite difficult when you come to making up things like cushion covers.

Perhaps we cross-stitchers tend to use 'backstitch' to mean any stitch used to outline a design?

This is the sort of thing I'm trying to explain. The outline is made up of straight stitches taken over several Aida blocks at a time. These stitches can go in any direction, but very rarely do they go from one Aida block to another. You can probably see it best on the black stitches on the eggcup. The grey stitches which form the outline of the eggcup cut across Aida blocks just like your Teddy ones would do.

I do some of what Maggie does.
I start at 1 and "skip" every other hole going around the outside of the project, 1 _ 3 _ 5_ etc.,then "turn" to do the "skipped" stitches on my way back to the start, 6_ 4_2_. To do the "main body" of the project, I do "totally" like Maggie, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Please don't give up. Like all the others have said, B/S makes the project "pop" when finished. Maybe use this piece as a "practice piece."

HAPPY STITCHING IN STITCHING LAND.

I've done one of the forever friends kits and it does often look odd when you try and backstitch or outline the bears, the stitches often 'cut through' a lot of the stuff you have done and leave it not looking quite round. it did all come together in the end

I do have a pic of the forever friends one I did here somewhere - I can try and find it later on tonight and upload it if that will help you

I know on one of mine they describe this as couching and not backstitch although I always call it backstitch as well. You take the thread and lay it down around where it's supposed to go and tack it in place with stitches using another needle for it to lay straight. Where you place your tack down stitches is pretty much up to you. It's hard to explain but if you look up couching, it will be easier to see what I mean. Of course I may be off my rocker all together but that's normal for me

I hate back stitching it's a pain I never do it the way pattern says to. I literally ignore the chart and look at the finished picture and just try to make it look like that. I don't care as long as it's close to whats intended. Any way as long as the finished project looks okay no one else will care, it's not like anyone you are giving it to will be comparing it to the chart.
All those little flaws we see are invisible to other people most of the time.
What I'd say it ignore the chart. First just outline where you think it needs it. Then fill in whatever inside details need it.