A stitch seam with a needle is referred to as buttonhole stitches. On the surface of the fabric, it looks like a continuous thread chain or pigtail. Various techniques for the execution of this seam make it easy to modify the pattern on the front surface of the fabric.
Having understood how to make a chain stitch, having mastered simple and easy to remember techniques, as well as the fundamental differences between the types of chain stitches, you can embroider, in fact, in the same technique, but in the end get a different texture of decoratively finished fabric.
History of occurrence
A tambour seam with a needle has been known since ancient times. At that time it was called the "chain." Embroidery was mainly done on a wooden hoop. The fabric stretched over them looked like the working surface of a drum. And this word was pronounced as "vestibule" or "tambourine." It is believed that the name came from the name of this kind of seams.
In those days, items trimmed with a “chain” using gilt thread were in demand. For greater expressiveness, the craftswomen twisted it with black and this achieved a contrast of transitions and expressiveness of the embroidery pattern.
Modern technology is increasingly using the "chain" for sewing stitch. With the help of a chain stitch and the use of its varieties in compositions, the craftsmen manage to achieve natural transitions of light and shadow. Chain stitches made with multi-colored threads open up additional opportunities for the implementation of the idea.
Application
For a person who is not keen on embroidery, knowing the basics of how to make a chain stitch will help with the repair of clothing. This technique can successfully simulate a machine chain stitch. With some practice, a high degree of similarity can be achieved.
You can sew overhead patches with chain stitches, if you set a goal to highlight this detail against the general background. Apply this seam in the case when you need to make a series of loops for the transition from knitwear to knitting equipment.
But still, the main purpose of vestibule seams is decorative embroidery with a pattern or stitch. This technique makes it possible to trim the fabric with a strict chain pattern along the contour and fill parts of the composition completely with the formation of various types of patterns: stems, flowers, petals, leaflets and other elements.
Material
Photos of the chain stitch on finished products are always clear lines. Embroidery looks on any kind of fabric, the main thing is to choose a combination of working thread and the color of the main material. For cotton, linen and jeans it is better to choose a floss.
Silk, chiffon and other delicate fabrics are best finished with viscose or silk threads. For wool you need to sew with the same material. The chain stitch of bright shades on plain fabrics without a pattern looks best.
Colored threads are more suitable for dense material. Batiste, kiseya, tulle or marquise can be decorated with white embroidery with metallic accents to create special effects.
Hoop technique
First you need to understand the principle of loop formation in order to learn how to perform a chain stitch with a needle. How to make it - it will be easier to understand the embroidery technique in the hoop.
The needle is inserted from the inside and displayed on the front surface. An injection is made into the contour of the future pattern. The thread extends completely and, as it were, fits along the marking of the axial line of the future chain.
Then the needle moves back to the place of withdrawal. In this case, the thread begins to form a loop. The needle is inserted in the same place and displayed inside out. The thread, following it, slowly tightens the loop. The next needle prick is made from the inside with a certain step also into the contour of the center line. This forms an even straight stitch.
Now the emerging tip of the needle needs to get into the loop. It is left not too big, but also sufficient for the convenience of work. The needle is fully withdrawn. The stitch is delayed. The withdrawn and stretched thread serves as a limiter and prevents the loop from going inside out. The distance between two needle pricks determines the length of the chain link.
Tambour seam with a needle: how to do, detailed instructions
On clothes or a piece of fabric, where there is no convenience for working with a fabric stretched on the hoop, the execution technique is slightly different, but it is also performed along contour lines.
The thread is displayed “on the face”, adhered by the thumb of the left hand, the needle returns back to the exit site. In this case, the same loop is formed, but pressed to the surface of the fabric. The next injection is made at the place of output of the thread. The stitch “forward needle” is made at the required distance. The needle is displayed in the formed loop.
The photo of the chain stitch at the initial stage makes it possible to understand the principle of pulling the needle into the curl formed. The moment of loop formation is also visible. Further the needle passes over the thread pressed to the fabric. The loop is tightened - one link of the chain is formed.
Then everything repeats. The finger presses the thread, the next loop is formed, an injection is made with the formation of a stitch “forward needle”. On the wrong side, a continuous seam line without gaps is formed along the contour of the pattern. It turns out that each new stitch ends in the middle of the loop.
Reverse chain
There are still many secrets in the chain stitch: how to do, for example, the reverse chain?
To form the first loop, you must first make a limiter for it. This is usually combined with a locking stitch at the beginning of the seam. To do this, perform one “forward needle” puncture from the inside into the contour of the future chain. The needle is withdrawn inside and the exact same puncture is repeated. The thread is fixed, it is inside out.
The next injection is made into the contour of the line at a certain distance. The value of this stitch determines the size of the loop and the future link in the chain. The needle is displayed "on the face", stretched completely. Now it needs to be wound under the threads that formed the first locking stitch.
This is done by moving from right to left without puncture of the fabric and capture of the base material. Then the needle returns to the place of withdrawal of the end of the thread and is displayed inside out. The loop is tightened. Then the process is repeated anew: a puncture with the desired step, the output of the thread “on the face”, picking up two threads of the previous loop, an injection in the place of output.
To make the reverse chain stitch with a needle neat, you need to monitor the exact size of the wrong stitches and evenly tighten the loops.
Varieties
This technique can be easily diversified. You can only change the angle of each subsequent stitch by deflecting it from the axial outlined line of the pattern, and you will get a herringbone seam.
If you complete each loop not at the point of output of the thread, but not reaching it, you get an open chain. The larger the distance, the wider the seam will be. If you follow the opposite principle and end the loop behind the point of output of the thread (put it on top), you will end up with a “cross chain stitch” with a needle.
Slightly modifying the technique of execution or adding the same type of side stitches, you can get a "bound", "rope" or "entwined" chain stitch. Changing the start point of the formation of loops, get a "socket" or "zigzag". Laying the chain next to the already formed one and picking up its loops, they get a “double” or “weighted” chain stitch with a needle.
Pattern and pattern composition
Intricate embroidery can be obtained by combining loops in a variety of groups. So, the foot is obtained from three basic stitches located next to each other and coming out from one point, a socket from four, a flower from five or more.
These groups can trim the edges of clothing. If you combine them with the base chain, you can form bouquets and garlands, complementing the stitches that form the stems and leaves.
The pattern of the composition or the contour pattern of the chain stitch is transferred to the light fabric through a carbon paper. To a dark base, a paper sketch or a photocopy can be sewn with a light thread with a basting seam along the main lines. After this, the paper breaks, and after embroidery, the basting blooms.
Secrets of craftsmanship: chain stitch
How to make an elastic stitch so that it fits perfectly on the intricate pattern and goes well with other types of decorative finishes?
The shape of the loops forming one or another type of chain is determined by the distance between adjacent punctures of the needle. The angle of their inclination to the conditional center line can change the direction.
The stitches should be the same size and within the contour lines of the composition. The distance between the punctures can be different.
The stitch of the base seam made according to the rules should be in the form of a drop. The uniformity of the loops can be achieved only by the same thread tension. One overly tightened loop (even if it is only slightly noticeable) will ruin the overall appearance of the chain. The same result will be if the thread is left slack.
Do not despair after the first setbacks. No one gets the perfect stitch the first time. The skill comes with practice. Patience and perseverance will ultimately produce results!