Buttonhole stitch


Buttonhole stitch and the related blanket stitch are hand-sewing stitches used in tailoring, embroidery, and needle lace-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 featherstitches.

Applications

Traditionally, this stitch has been used to secure the edges of buttonholes. In addition to reinforcing buttonholes 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. It developed into a decorative surface-embroidery stitch with numerous variations by simply modifying the height, spacing, and angles of the legs and by adding additional stitches to and around the basic stitch. This stitch belongs to the large family of flat and looped stitches and is closely worked together with no background fabric visible between the 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, and form the basis for many forms of needlelace. This stitch is well represented on 16th- and 17th-century whitework items, Elizabethan-era clothing, and the colorful traditional band samplers. The buttonhole stitch appeared on the Jane Bostocke sampler which is the earliest, signed sampler known to date and is presently housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Variants

Examples of buttonhole or blanket stitches include: