Crows foot hand embroidery stitch
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Stitch Fun – Crows Foot

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Stitch this Fabulous Sampler

stitch sampler for hand embroidery

If you want to stitch this wonderful sampler and learn over 30 Hand Embroidery stitches then head over to this page for all the information.

Crows Foot

If you have purchased the Pre Printed Fabric Panel or have tranferred the Template to your fabric – scroll down to the ‘Start Stitching’ section to get started straight away.

I first came across this stitch in Mary Thomas’s Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches and thought it looked amazing. I didn’t have a use for it until now! This sampler is the perfect excuse to try something like this and I am so glad I did. This stitch is great fun and looks so impressive when complete.

Here’s what a Crows Foot looks like…

This is a tailoring stitch that is used to strengthen a garment but I can see so many decorative ways of using this now I have completed it.

First things first…

To give yourself at least some chance of completing this properly you need to be working in a hoop or frame as the ground fabric needs to be tight.

You then need to draw a triangle with all 3 sides equal.

Draw it on the lower left quarter of the circle like so…

Now you have your triangle drawn you are all ready for the fun bit. I used 2 strands of floss to stitch my Crows Foot.

For ease – the lines of the triangle are referred to as ‘a,b,c’ and the needle and thread positions are numbered. It might seem complicated but believe me – once you understand how the stitch is composed and get in to a rythym it is actually quite simple!

Trust me – practice on some scrap fabric beforehand if you don’t want to mess your sampler up!

Start Stitching…

Bring your thread up on the bottom point (1) and take it back in on line ‘b’ a tiny bit in from the point (2)

Next, bring the thread out on line ‘a’ just a tiny bit up from the point (3) and take it across and back in on line ‘c’ – again a tiny bit in from the point (4)

Repeat this to complete the triangle: Come up on line ‘b’ just a tiny bit in from the point (5) – take it back up to where you started and take the needle in on line ‘a’ just a tiny bit in from the point (6).

Hopefully you can see that it is a really simple pattern that repeats to complete each side of the triangle.

  • You come up on one side and go down on the opposite side.
  • Use the drawn lines as your guide for bringing the needle up and taking it back down.
  • Keep crossing over the lines to complete the triangle.
  • Keep the lines close next to each other for a filler effect.

and that’s all there is to it!

Were you up for the challenge? Hopefully this has not left you too frustrated.

I wasn’t sure if I should leave this stitch to a bit further along in the sampler but I wanted to show you we weren’t just doing lines – there are lots of fun elements we can add in and get you stitching! If you are a complete novice and this had you tearing your hair out – don’t worry! Let me know and I will sort out an easier stitch for the triangle so your sampler is not left with a gap! Just send me an email or let me know in the FB group.

If you have enjoyed the stitch and have a fabulous Crows Foot to show off – share your stitching over in the FB Group. Or, email me and I’ll add it here so others can be inspired.

Happy Stitching!

2 Comments

    1. Hi Jan, I don’t – it was a make it up as you go along sort of project. Samplers like this tens to look fab with a whole host of different colours. x

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