Aha! I bet you thought I’d given up on expanding my video library of hand embroidery stitches! I finally managed to re-video (if that’s a word) turkey work!
Turkey work, also called ghiordes knot, is an embroidery technique that creates a plush pile. It’s great for dimensional embroidery, stumpwork, and the like. I’ve seen many a bumblebee embroidered using Turkey work, as well as thistle tops and other grass / flower motifs.
The term “Turkey work” has nothing to do with the bird, by the way. It’s from Turkey, the country - it’s a rug stitch commonly used there, and the technique has been adapted into surface embroidery. This is a fun technique – not so much in the stitching, which is rather bland (more or less, just a backstitching technique, where every other stitch is left in a loop), but the trimming and fluffing is Great Fun!
This is a clump of Turkey work from the top. It’s four rows of loops. In the video, I only stitched two rows, to show you the technique.
This is the pile from the side. Pretty, fluffy stuff, isn’t it? I used a whole piece – all six strands – of DMC stranded cotton. You can use any kind of thread for Turkey work, but I like stranded cotton, and as many strands as feasible, because it separates into a nice, thick carpet when fluffed.
A couple points:
1. The closer you work the rows and the smaller your “locking” stitches – and the closer together your loops are – the thicker your pile will be.
2. An eyebrow comb is a handy thing to use for fluffing, but if you don’t have one, just run your needle through it until you get the fluffy look you want.
3. In the video, I worked both rows from left to right, but you can work the rows in either direction as you return on each row. Just reverse the way the stitch goes. Once you get the hang of the movement of the stitch, you’ll be able to figure that out, no problem!
By the way, I’m back to considering whether or not I should script these videos before I actually open my mouth and start yammering…
Here’s the video:
For more hand embroidery stitch videos, check out my How-To Videos for Hand Embroidery!
Mary,
Thanks for the new video. I can’t wait to use this Turkey Work idea. The look of the fluffy pile is wonderful and you explain it so clearly. Linda
Help! I seem to have gone temporarily stupid and can’t find the video.
Alice McClelland
bettytheloon@yahoo.com
Thank you Mary. It seems so easy when I see it done by someone else.
I used this video to help me with turkey work on an aquatic sampler. I would like to share a picture!
Nita Carroll
Hi Mary
I used your video to spark my recall on how to do this stitch. Thanks so much for putting it on your website.
Gratefully yours,
Naomi, Bendigo, Australia
The term "Turkey work" originally referred to a 17th century method of weaving, (not embroidery) in which fabric was made to resemble expensive Turkish carpets or "Turkey carpets". This fabric was used for table covers, pillow covers and upholstery. In Turkey work, bits of woolen yarn were knotted around weft threads by weavers. These stuck up out of the woven material and were then sheared off to a uniform height, creating a pile. Early Turkey work imitated geometric patterns found on Turkish carpets, but later the patterns were those found in English embroidery – animals, flowers, etc.
Hello. I do enjoy your instructions and demos. Is there a way I may download these instructions without showing each side of the page? I downloaded “Some notes on Satin Stitch” which came to nine (9) pages, There were three (3) pages of instructions and used(6) six pages for “scratch”. Thank you for this wonderful website, keep um’ comin!!! Pat Jay/Texas
Hi, Patricia –
I’m afraid there’s not. Even at the best of times, print features on website pages don’t generally work all that great. We tried to make it as functional as possible. You might try highlighting the text and copying and pasting it into Word or Open Office, and printing it that way. Then you could format the text larger, smaller, etc., as you wished.
Just a thought!
Best,
Mary
Mary – this is just what I was looking for! I am embroidering some of the elements on a Debbie Mumm ‘Earth Angel’ panel for a quilt pieced jacket and needed the perfect thing for a racoon tail – Thanks so much for the great tutorial
Mary,
It’s probably 40 years since I’ve done turkey work. I wanted to put eyelashes on a counted cross stitch fish for my granddaughter and couldn’t remember how and couldn’t find this stitch in any of my books. You came up on Google and your video nudged my memory perfectly. Love your site. Thanks
Hi Mary,
Just getting back into hand embroidery, (apart from Hardanger which I love and do quite a bit of),so I can honestly say I haven’t as yet done any kits. Everything I’ve re-experimented with has been drafted from pattern and then worked to re-establish long unused stitch methods and some I’ve never heard of. Most of my embroidery is done these day on machine because of nerve damage in some of my fingers, but I just felt it was time I gave it a try again. So far I’m not doing too bad.
thank you for this video. jani from srilanka
thankyou
this is amazing. Thank you so much for doing this. Your explanations and pictures are so easy to follow. Jane
My question with the turkey stitch is:
if the item is framed, won’t those stitches
mat down and not give the same effect?
Thanks, I enjoyed your tutorial.
Cheryl
Hi, Cheryl – with any embroidery, if you decide to frame it under glass, the glass normally shouldn’t be against the embroidery. With dimensional stitches, it’s necessary either to use enough layers of matting (if you use matting) to provide enough space for the stitches, or to use spacers in the frame to lift the class away from the work. Hope that helps! – MC
Hola Maria, primero que todo gracias por compartir tan lindos conocimientos en verdad que su trabajo es muy hermoso, apenas estoy tratando de aprender, pero se que lo lograre porque sus enseñas son muy claras. Que Dios la bendiga
thank you so much! this is the only video that makes sense to me how to stitch turkey work. you are a great teacher!
hi. the video for the turkey work isn’t working. I loved using this for another project. Can you see if this could be fixed?
MaryAlice
Mary-
These videos are amazing. They are so much more helpful than any book. thank you for making them and making them available!
It’s working again.
-MaryAlice
Great video! Thank you. ; )