FREE embroidery stitch guide when you sign up for my newsletter
Cart 0
FREE embroidery stitch guide when you sign up for my newsletter
Cart 0

Blanket stitch tutorial

To learn how to do blanket stitch, why not check out my blanket stitch tutorial. It includes:

  • illustrated embroidery stitch instructions
  • a blanket stitch video
  • tips for success
  • variations on blanket stitch
  • Royal School of Needlework stitch bank

Blanket stitch uses

Blanket stitch was traditionally used for edging blankets, but it's also a decorative stitch. You can use it for edging shapes as you can see in the photo below showing the third circle on my stitch sampler embroidery kit.  

Blanket stitch tutorial, example on stitch sampler kit

Blanket stitch tutorial

Blanket stitch tutorial

 

  • Bring the needle through the fabric at 1, push it back down at 2. 
  • Then bring the needle up at 3, keeping the thread looped behind the needle. 
  • Repeat, putting the needle in at 4 and back up at 5. 
  • To end blanket stitch, make a tiny stitch over the thread to hold the last loop in place.

Blanket stitch video

Tips for blanket stitch

Blanket stitch is an easy embroidery stitch. You need to keep the stitches evenly sized and with the same tension so they don't look too loose or too tight.

Download my free stitch guide covering 10 simple embroidery stitches, including blanket stitch.

Variations on blanket stitch

Firstly, you can use blanket stitch for edging, for example edging blankets or stitching two pieces of felt together to make them into a single layer. 

Secondly, you can use it for applique, where you use blanket stitch to attach a patch of felt or fabric onto another piece of fabric. You can see how I have used blanket stitch for applique in the photo below:

Blanket stitch used for applique

Thirdly, you can use blanket stitch more decoratively, for example to make blanket stitch wheels. You use blanket stitch wheels on the middle bird of my chirpy birds design. You can find separate instructions here on how to stitch blanket stitch wheels.

Blanket stitch is very useful for stitching leaves, for example on my autumn trees design. Separate instructions on how to do blanket stitch leaves are provided here.

More on blanket stitch

The Royal School of Needlework has a stitch bank which aims to preserve every known stitch. It will become a world-wide directory of embroidery stitches. You can read their stitch bank entry for blanket stitch and their blanket stitch tutorial here.