Well, since it’s Monday, and since it’s Autumn – which makes me Very Happy! – I think it’s a good day for a give-away!
Besides, we haven’t had one of these in a long, long while, have we?
On Friday, we looked up close at this new Blue Peacock embroidery kit from Canevas Folies. Today, thanks to Laurence at Canevas Folies (for the design kit) and Lisa at the French Needle (for the thread), I’m giving away the design kit with the specialty threads to one of you peacock fans out there!

The Blue Peacock embroidery kit is suitable for Very Determined Almost-Beginners and beyond. If you’ve never picked up a needle and thread and never worked a stitch, this might not be the kit to start with!
But, if you’ve embroidered even just a little bit and you are confident in your ability to look up and figure out stitches, then you can work this kit.
The kit comes with the stitch layout guide, the pre-printed fabric, some text instructions but not very complex stitch instructions, and the specialty threads (by House of Embroidery) needed to complete the design (but not the DMC threads, which you can supply from your local shop).
Give-Away Guidelines
If you’d like an opportunity to win this gorgeous kit, please follow these guidelines:
This give-away is now ended. Thanks for participating!
1. Leave a comment below, at the end of this article, answering the question in #3. Comments sent in via email or left on other articles are not eligible. To leave a comment, just follow this link. It will take you straight to the comment form.
2. In your comment – either on the “name” line of the comment form or in the comment box – please make sure you leave a recognizable name. If you’re name is Sue, for example, you’ll need to qualify it somehow, with a last initial or a nickname or something like that. This prevents confusion when the winner is announced. For example: Sue in Seattle, Sue Parks, Sweet Sue.
3. In your comment, please answer the following:
What’s your all-time favorite embroidery stitch, and why?
4. Leave your comment by Saturday, October 10, 5:00 am Central Time (that’s Kansas time), and I’ll announce the winner that day. The winner will need to contact me with mailing information.
And that’s it! Super easy – so leave your comment now, and before you know it, you could be stitching up this glorious peacock!
Enjoy your Monday!
Yay! A giveaway! I have a friend who would love this kit!
My favorite stitch would have to be the stem stitch, because of it’s versatility. It’s an outline, it’s a fill, it’s amazing!
I purely love the zig-zaggy butterfly chain stitch. I doubt that is it’s proper name but I cant remember what it is really called. Ever since I first learned how to do it I have used it in many applications outside of it’s use in creating butterflies. It makes fantastic waves for instance.
I love to do the satin stitch. It’s always a challenge and makes the thread shine. I’m some what a perfectionist when it comes to my stitches. I have stitched for forty four years. I would love to stitch the peacock!
I guess my favourite stitch is the French knot. It might not be a versatile stitch but I love the effect it creates and I love doing French-knot-hair!
Oh yes ! The blue peacock I was dreaming of since some weeks ! what a nice thing !
My favorite embroidery stitch is satin stitch : it can be just simple satin stitch, or become overcast stitch, or either padded satin stitch ; it can be large or narrow, thick or not, but always shining …
Hi Mary
It’s got to be the long and short stitch which I first learned with Trish Burr. I do palliative live-in-care work and whenever I stitch this stitch it seems to make the world right so it’s called my therapeutic stitch as its so relaxing to do. I adore peacocks and this kit is gorgeous it reminds me of our peacock on the farm in Zimbabwe called bluey. Have a lovely rest of your day Mary. Love Tish.
I’m currently enthralled with the braided chain stitch. I used it most recently to make the tail feathers on a peacock I stitched in a peacock-themed crazy quilt.
My favorite stitch is the closed Cretan stitch. I know that that’s weird, but every time I use it it feels like magic. You have a bunch of straight lines and then… Leaf! Like magic! Give me lots of little leaves that I can fill in all day long and I’ll be happy.
I don’t need to be in the giveaway, but wanted to answer the question.
I have two favorite stitches, the French knot and the bullion knot. I think the reason I like them so much is that so many people hate doing them!
I am 74 years young and have taken up embroidery.
I am totally addicted. I just received the beginners guide to shading by Clare Hanham, what a treat. Because I am so new to this art I do not have a favorite stitch but having a great time learning how to short and long stitch to shade so guess for now that would be my favorite.:) Blessings to all you stitchers Patty Herrera
I would love to stitch this. My favorite stitch is the satin stitch. I love how shiny it is and how soft it feels to the touch. I know it’s bad, but I love passing my fingers over it 😀
My all-time favorite embroidery stitch is the first stitch in a new project.
ll
THIS ^^^
(Side note: Please don’t enter me in the giveaway. I’ve got too many projects in the queue already. Someone who is dying to stitch this birdie should win the kit!)
LOL. My favorite stitch is the LAST stitch in a project; then I get to enjoy the satisfaction of “done”.
Seriously, the plain old stem stitch, the first stitch my Mom taught me.
Ooooh, this kit is gorgeous.
I would have to say my favorite is cross stitch – because I’ve done so much of it! It is fun, though.
I really love queen stitch, for background, for clothing, for spot samplers, for anything.
Last week, I was hoping for a giveaway, the kit looks so beautiful!
Hi Donna C,
What is “queen’s stitch” Is it an embroidery stitch or a needlepoint stitch? What does it look like? Thanks
Barbara La Belle
My favorite stitch would have to be the Long & Short Stitch as I love to blend colors, especially on my stumpwork flowers!
How exciting. I LOVE the peacock. My mother taught me to embroider when I was a child but I haven’t done much since then. Have been wanted to start again and this would be Incentive!
And I forgot to say my favorite stitch is the stem stitch but look forward to trying others.
I love stem stitch because it works well as an outline on curves and as a filler. It’s so much nicer than a simple back stitch
Lazy Daisy stitch, it is easy to remember and looks cute.
So many stiches, so little time! Today my favorite stitch is the French knot. Just completed a project and was reminded how much fun they are to do.
My favorite stitch is the satin stitch. Embroidery is so relaxing for me and I love to do most of my work during the wintertime. I have been doing handwork since I was a little girl and was taught by my great grandmother. I love making pillow cases and embroidering along with creating crochet trim. Also I collect old pillow cases and starching and ironing them!
Love peacocks! I had started one in applique and embroidery but only finished the tail section. This kits looks so lovely. I hope I win!!! Fingers crossed for good luck.
Favorite embroidery stitch is satin stitch. Whenever I use it people always comment favorably on the finished project.
My all time favorite stitch is the lazy daisy because it’s so quick and filling.
Thanks to all of you for the opportunity of this give away. Very nice!
My favorite stitch?! That’s sort of like asking me to pick my favorite child!
You know, I suppose this is boring but I like my back stitch. The first stitch I learned – it’s meditative, it’s simple and utilitarian.
I love pretty satin stitches!
My favorite stitch is the Queen Stitch. It has a delicate look to it and is beautiful as a stand-alone stitch or as a filler. It is often thought of as a challenge, but I love it!!
Love cross stitch for its versatility.
I am fairly new to embroidery, altho I have done cross stitch for years and lots of other crafts, embroidery is fairly new to me but am loving how versatile it is.
I think my favourite stitch is satin stitch, as it has so many uses.
Would love to win the peacock kit…and thank you for all the great instructional videos you upload!! They really help a lot.
I love the Peacock. My favorite stitch is kind of like my favorite song. It’s often the one I am doing when asked. My favorite embroidery is shadow work. I love the delicate look on baby and children’s clothing. I have used it on other items also. Diane Pp
My favorite stitch is the turkey stitch. I completed an embroidery piece with a squirrel and the tail required the turkey stitch. I love how it made the tail fluffy and gave the design a much more textured look. It really is a great stitch!
Thanks for giving away the peacock kit. It is gorgeous.
My favorite stitch is the French knot. I learned to embroider when I was a little girl, and I’ve always thought the French knot the most fun of the stitches.
French Knot -reminds me of a picture done years ago of broccoli – there were hundred of French knots – so no every time I see a stalk of broccoli – I think of French knots
The back stitch if my favorite stitch. Thank you for the chance to win this beautiful kit. Thank you for your website!!
I love this kit!!! I’ve never seen a kit I loved this much! My favorite stitch is the humble back stitch. I love those plump little dashes! There are many fancier and more complex stitches I adore, but I probably use back stitch the most. I use it to do black work style geometric patterns, or as a filling stitch with a textured thread. It’s my go to when I’m doodling around.
One of my favorite stitches is button hole or blanket stitch. It can be used in so many ways for edging, to make flowers or add texture. I’ve been learning stump work and it comes in handy!
My maiden name is Peacock so I am partial to Peacock designs! I stitched a peacock from the adult coloring book that was featured a year or so ago.
The blanket stitch – so versatile and beautiful – use it on the edges,use it for filling up,use it as flower petals…I am forever thinking of the possibilities with it.
My favorite stitch is the stem stitch. It is so versatile….I use it in many places for outlining and for filling in spaces. Thanks for the change to win this beautiful kit.
Brenda Schiesser
My all time favorite stitch is the bullion knot. All kinds of things can be made with it.
I love the peacock kit – it’s beautiful.
I would live to be considered for this peacock giveaway. What a great project for the winter months.
My favorite stitch would be satin stitch. I’m still working on perfecting it but I love the sheen, the coverage, and the look of it.
I love the buillon stitch. It is so versatile and looks so elegant with silk threads.
Hi – love your articles. The buttonhole is really my favorite – so much to do within the family of buttonhole stitches. easy to learn and to teach others!
This would be a lovely piece to work and the finished product will make a lovely gift for a friend.
My favorite stitch and most used stitch is the stem stitch.
I am new to embroidery but I’m enjoying the backstitch. It is so easy and looks perfect!
I just love the peacock embroidery.
The colors are very striking and the embroidery is not too large.
I’ve just started the chicken scrath embroydery and I would love to try this one for a change.
I love learning new stitches, but my all time favorite stitch is the feather stitch because it is versatile and can be used many ways.
I love the French knot. It is very versiital and can be used in many different ways. You can use any thread or ribbon for the knots. You can use them to make small or large knots depending on the wraps and type of thread. I also like long and short stitch I love receiving your email everyday and can’t wIt to see what you write about each day. Thank you for all you do to keep us informed I have learned so much from you. Also you are prompt in sending guest ion replies. Thanks again. Madilyn dunlap
I enjoy the long and short stitch.
Well, first favorite stitch that comes to mind is the French Knot. My mother taught me to embroider when I was a small girl, I am 60, now. The French Knot was the one that seemed “sophisticated” to me and I think of her every time I make that stich.
HI Mary,
Thanks for the giveaway offer! I like how small it is, making it possible to finish. Plus, perfect time of year for a blast of color, and aren’t peacocks all about color?!
My favorite stitch? Sounds silly, but I use back stitch probably 90% of the time to add a touch of texture from hand-stitching or attach some beads alongside a cord. Perhaps this kit will broaden my horizons?! Here hoping!
Thanks Mary.
My all time favorite stitch – that is so hard because there are so many to choose from. I was going to say the plain Jane of stitches – the stem stitch because it can be used several ways, but I think I will change to the satin stitch. It’s also versatile but so beautiful when done well. I especially love the padded satin stitch for flowers, berries, fruits, etc.
What a funtastic giveaway!
My favorite embroidery stitch is the blanket stitch. It can be made to look like fencing, a flower, wheels, and can be used as an outline stitch to mimic critters and of course for applique.
Hi Mary,
My favorite stitch is the raised stem stitch because it was the first advanced stitch I tried. Thanks to your wonderful video I was able to grasp it the first time out!
Sharon
Hello. My favourite stitch is the bullion knot. It took me a while to master it but now my roses can grow almost anywhere!
The chain-stitch is my favorite, probably because I am a Crocheter. A long time ago i did a butterfly on a pair of my jeans (chain-stitch), I got so many compliments.
Sister From the South,
LindY G Sherrod
I love the continental stitch, it is a classic stitch. Because it fills the back of the canvas as it completes the front. I have used it in petite point as well as cushions and large tapestries.
It has to be the chain stich, simple yet versatile. I’ve done so many things with it from embellishing my jeans as a student to putting my daughters name onto her things, it can’t fail to make me smile.
Yes yes i would love the peacock kit. I have been stitching a long time, not a master at any one stitch. My favorite is probably the bullion stitch, I spent so much time trying to make the bullion beautiful I can’t forget.
My all time favorite stitch in the running stitch. I learned this past summer in a crazy quilt class how to use it and embellish it in different ways using different types of thread.
At this point in my embroidery my favorite stitch is the long and short, for I am working on Trish Burr kit, and those are the main stitches used, I also teach this technique and that is the stitch that I am using, it’s nice a freebie once in awhile ,
Thank you Mary
Diane
I just love padded satin stitch, even though it is soooo hard to get it right! But when it is done well (something I’m not very familiar with), the threads all blend together to make a lovely smooth surface. I also like the texture of the padding, which gives a piece some dimension. I managed to work some padding into my last project, which does give it a bit of oomph.
My favorite stitch is long and short. I like it because it is so versatile. You can produce some lovely shading and it makes flowers, animals and birds look so realistic.
What’s your all-time favorite embroidery stitch, and why?
My favorite embroidery stitch is the Scotch Stitch. It’s versatile, polished, and looks complicated but isn’t.
I’d love to work on the Blue Peacock.
My favorite stitch is the chain stitch. By itself(detached) it can be a leaf, a flower or just a nice oval shape. In a row(chain), it makes a nice seam treatment for crazy quilts. It can be done close together to make texture for a tree. The little holes in the chain are perfect places for beads. Love the chain stitch!
My favorite embroidery stitch…..
I would probably have to say the stem stitch. You can outline, you can adjust the thickness of the outline by the angle and overlap. And you can fill by making row-upon-row. And you can use it to follow contours.
And maybe, just maybe, I’m saying it is my favorite, because that is what I am doing right now on my current piece. Who knows, when I move to the next part and do another stitch, that might be my favorite at that time!
Thank you for another giveaway!! I love peacocks and their colors almost as much as I love stitching!
My favorite embroidery stitch is the Queen Stitch. It can be so versitile. One done as a stand alone stitch can be a lantern, flower or many other objects. Put several together and beautiful texture results. Use different weights of threads to make different sized stitches and a shape can be filled, or a light background can be created. And it can be a very soothing stitch once a rhythm is established.
I love this site and I love peacocks! My favorite stitch has to be the feather stitch- it’s so versatile as edging and has so many variations, and is easy and attractive as well.
I would love this give-away!
back stitch! It’s easy to make it look nice and very useful. Although I also like chain stitch because it’s also easy but looks very fancy.
I’d like to say my favorites are French Knots as they seem to work so well so very often in my pieces, but alas…
I believe I would have to choose fly stitch as they seem to cover very well, yet still allow the paint to show through.
Thank you so much Mary for this, and thanks to Laurence and Lisa as well. 🙂
This is a beautiful kit. Peacocks are awesome ! The colors are magnificent .
Would love to win this kit!!! Favorite stitch
is the satin stitch which really makes the pattern pop!
My favorite stitch is the stem stitch because it was the first “real” stitch I was successful with.
Lately I’ve fallen in love with the split back stitch. It gives a much smoother line than stem stitch or back stitch. And so much easier than a regular split stitch where you have to come up through the threads instead of down into them.
Thanks for the chance to win such a beautiful kit!
I like the daisy and the daisy chain stitch
not sure why I like this one but I do
the peacock kit is beautiful
Hi there. I’m a determined beginner with my stitching. In my limited experience I would say my favourite stitch is the fly stitch. No real reason other than I find it enjoyable to do ‘freestyle’.
Such a fabulous giveaway. Favorite stitch is difficult, so many good ones. I think today it is detached twisted buttonhole. Adds interesting texture and very versatile.
Thanks Judy
I have learned so much from Mary. I THOUGHT I knew embroidery, but everyday I learn something new. The Peacock is beautiful. My husband had peacocks a while ago and I have one feather left….
I love the chain stitch. It can curve beautifully, be done in a myriad of threads to make wonderful texture, be used as a single line or fill any shape. It’s easy to do and works up quickly.
As plain old vanilla as it is, my favorite is probably the back stitch. You can show this to the most sewing phobic person around and in a matter of minutes, they can be embroidering up a storm!
Oh what a gorgeous peacock! Determined beginner pretty much describes me to a “T.” With the videos here on Needle N Thread, it’s not so intimidating!
I think my favorite stitch (I don’t know too many) is stem stitch, because I can use it for both outline and fill. I’ve gotten pretty good at outline stitches at this point, but those pesky fills still plague me. Stem stitch gives me the best of both worlds!
Live the peacock give away! As humble as it is, I love the stem stitch. It can fill in or stand alone and it’s just plain fun to do!!!!
YAY!! A giveaway , how wonderful!
My favourite stitch has to be bullion knots. They add so much dimension, and they make the most realistic roses imaginable. Plus they look great on butterflies. And they make the loveliest rosebuds. You can manipulate them into so many shapes. They make you want to reach out and touch them.
Thanks for the chance to win such a wonderful prize, Mary 🙂
Wow!! Would love to grab this. My favorite stitch is chain stitch because of the way it comes out. Its an easy stitch, helps me with decorative borders and curves very well.
Hi Mary, and thanks for the chance to win this lovely kit!
I’ve got so many favorite stitches- hard to choose just one…
I’m going to say French knots though. I love to use either a variegated thread or several different shades of thread to fill spaces with French knots. The end result is something like a fancy carpet, and the repetitive action of creating the knots is soothing somehow. Call me crazy, but I really love those French knots!
I love birds, but especially peacocks. They are so magnificent. I thoroughly enjoy doing a lazy daisy chain – it always looks playful and fun.
The FRENCH KNOT…but I really don’t know why! I use it often, I guess to me it’s a fun addition to a piece!I just made a snowgirl doll, and she has French Knot snowtears at her eyes!
I love give aways, and always think if you don’t try you have no chance of winning My absolute favourite embroidery stitch is without a doubt the simple cross stitch. I have tried and loved many many more stitches over the years, but I always come back to cross stitch. This is what I started with aged ten, when my older sister gave me a wool kit of a collie’s head, as she got bored. I did not have anyone to ask how to do it, and I remember that the back of the picture when I finished it was about an inch thick from all the knots…I had no idea how to finish the threads… I was hooked though, and have done more pictures than I can remember, most of them for my family. I grew up in the very north of Sweden, and there was one single knitting and stitching shop. There was no internet, only one post order magazine. After moving to the UK aged 29, things changed quickly and I have since done a lot of hardanger and some other embroidery, but always go back to cross stitch
My all time favorite embroidery stitch is the Chain Stitch. It is easy to do, covers a lot of space and you can make it look different by varying the length or weaving another thread through it or even adding another stitch along the sides.
I would think that blanket/buttonhole is my favorite because it is so versatile!
I too love peacocks; the colors are lovely. By the way my birthday is Oct. 13, so what a wonderful present this kit would make. My memories of the Lazy Daisy Stitch are very sweet. It always seemed like magic. When I taught it to my grandchildren, they had the same reaction. To be able to make a flower by tacking a loop of thread seemed the height of creativity when I was 5 years old. (I’m going to be 80)
Alycia
We share the same birthday – October 13th! Hope you day is full of fun and this is your best year ever!
Happy Stitching – Toni
The chain stitch is my favorite stitch because I can still remember my mother teaching it to me many, many years ago.
My favorite stitch is the french knot. I learned it when I was first learning to embroider as a child and got pretty good at it. In my late teens and early 20’s I started to embroider on clothes (it was the 60’s) and loved to draw the pictures on the clothes , then try to paint the picture in, with shading and all, by using french knots.
My favorite stitch is the stem stitch. This is the first stitch I learned when I was 6 years old. The “embroidery lady” who came to volunteer at the children’ s hospital taught me. I worked on a swan with peacock blue thread. That remains my favorite color over 50 years later.
love your newsletter I learned to embroider from my grandmother when I was 5 I do all sorts of hand work always have something in the basket where I sit
I would love this beautiful kit! I have been away from embroidery and I’m getting back to it after recently retiring.
My favorite stitch is the lazy daisy. This stitch is so versatile and can be used in most pieces.
I love bullion knots! they become anything, rosebuds, bugs, flourishes! thank you so much for the video library!
Sorry, I did not see question 3. My favorite stitch is the daisy stitch. I like the way it gives a completion and daintiness to a project.
I still have a lot of stitches to learn! So far, I’ve really enjoyed using stem stitch to do outline embroidery instead of just backstitch.
My favorite embroidery stitch is the French Knot, and I had difficulty learning the stitch. I like French Knots best because making them well gives me a sense of accomplishment, they add texture, and they create interesting pixilated effects in needlework.
I love your site and would love to win this kit. I love peacocks and think that they are magnificent creatures. I have done some Stumpwork and love doing all kinds of embroidery stitches. I challenge myself to learn new kinds of stitches. I am a self taught skill stitcher in many of the sewing fields…from embroidery, knitting, crochet, cross stitch and regular sewing.
My favorite embroidery stitch right now is the French Knot! Why? Not real sure! Guess because you can change the size, use it in so many areas of embroidery and it’s relatively easy to do (and mess up!). Maybe once I master the bullion stitch that will be my favorite – it’s beautiful!
Thanks for the opportunity to win this kit. If I do win, it will still go to my sister when completed!
My all time favorite stitch is the blanket stich. It is versatile and the variations are often stunning. Second all time favorite is the lazy daisy stitch. Love the peacock
Joyfully,
Dianne
I love peacocks and was so excited to see your post on Friday. The scary part for me is that I feel I am new to embroidery. I learned very young to embroidery – mostly cross stitch, and I didn’t pursue it over the years. Now in my spare time, I am learning many new crafts either by doing refresher work or learning new things outright.
I did take on an embroidery stitch along project, and have fell in love with embroidery. It is hard to believe I can create something so beautiful with thread and needed. So baby stepping along, I am learning embroidery past the cross stitch ability.
While I love the look of the satin stitch, my favorite so far is the Pekinese Stitch! It is so clever how you can take the two different colors of thread and create a beautiful like of stitch work.
Thanks for hosting this giveaway!
in one project I learned to to the turkey stitch loved it’s 3D effect and my grandmother apparently did not like French knots she left these for me and I love doing them
I love the french knot!! It looks great I love making it. Thanks for the opportunity to win the kit! All your giveaways are so fun 🙂
So hard! I would say that the blanket stitch; I love the number of variations. But a very close second would have to be the split stitch so lovely for outlining or fill.
I just love making feather stitches, and all the variations! It would be so special to win this peacock kit; I would make it for my sweet daughter, who is very ill. Thanks so much for sharing your talents, and this terrific opportunity!
My favorite stitch is the bouillon knot!
The stitch I enjoy doing the most is the chain stitch because it’s one that I can do fairly well and has an interesting look. However, I find a well-done satin stitch is beautiful and really want to master it. One day I will get brave enough to try the couching stitches. I love the way that yours turn out both in the color combinations and texture that it gives your projects.
Thanks for doing a giveaway – how fun!
Oh dear. That’s a tricky one! I love outline stitches like the stem stitch, but I also like texture. This weekend I was quite pleased with myself over some buttonhole stitching…satin stitching is lovely but I’m not all that good at it yet. I know, I choose long-and-short for its fill and versatility. You can do anything with that stitch!
Least favorite: french knots. French knots are my nemesis.
Aaack! Picking just one! Fly, stem, cross, french knot, satin. I’d have to say cross stitch because it is the “gateway stitch” for new embroiderers into the lovely world of art-thread-needle.
Can’t deny it that the first stitch that came to my mind as my favorite was the “Lazy Daisy”! All memories return of when I was a little girl and mom bought me my first embroidery pillow case kit– and it was the one stitch I recall her teaching me to make. I love embroidery still today maybe because those are my fondest memories together with my recently departed mom. But today however, oh how I would love to get my hands on that Peacock kit!!
It’s really hard to pick a favorite embroidery stitch, there’s so many beauties out there! But it would probably be padded satin. I learned it from your website and many projects using it, and absolutely love it. I’m a sorta advanced beginner at embroidering and if I do quickie projects too long I go into withdrawal for padded satin 🙂
Hi Mary,
My favorite stitch is the French knot because this stitch can be used to embellish so many different things! Such as the sparkle in an eye of a peacock!
Difficult to do just right, the French knot has embellished many of my stitched projects.
The peacock looks like fun. My favorite stitch is probably the French knot. I’ve just always loved to make them.
Pick me!
My favorite stitch right now is the bullion knot because I am using it to emphasize some bird outlines and it looks great. For everyday go to stitches, I guess the stem and backstitch and french knot.
Thanks for the chance to win that fabulous peacock.
My favourite stitch is the buttonhole stitch. I like the way it finishes the edges of applique.
I enjoy doing French knots and the variations you’ve taught me. The peacock would be perfect for my next project. I must admit that I was not grieving the recent loss of the real peacock next door! Quiet is good.
I have always loved the chain stitch, with your videos, articles and information I have discovered so much more that it can do! Thank you for the chance to win this wonderful project. Have a great creative day!
I am an avid embroiderer and have always liked the chain stitch. I like the look it has and the various effects you can stitch. Although it is a simple, basic stitch, it always makes me feel as if I accomplished my goal. Thanks…
There are so many stitches to choose from – I have several favorites. My least favorite is the satin stitch – it’s so hard to keep the threads nice and smooth. I like chain stitch a lot as well as stem. I really like this peacock pattern. Even if I don’t win it I am seriously thinking about ordering it anyway. It’s so pretty!
My favorite stitch is long and short stitch. I love how one can use it to create subtle shading in the petals of a flower or the feathers of a bird. It forms such a lovely contrast to more textured surface stitches like French knots, chain and outline.
A simple cross stitch!
Love, love, love your emails…and this one is just perfect!!
I adore the Drizzle Stitch! It’s kooky, funky and just plain fun and easy to do! You can give such a wonderful expression of hair, tail feathers or craziness to just about anything you’re stitching! Of course, there’s nothing I don’t love about embroidery because it’s such an expression of who you are!
Thanks for loving and sharing your embroidery with everyone!
I have tried and enjoyed all types of needlework. I was searching for Brazilian Embroidery kits and information when I found your wonderful website. So many valuable tips and stitches available with excellent instructions. If I should win the peacock stitching kit, on completion I would frame it and hang it on the wall, next to my huge vase of peacock feathers… fascinated by that bird!!
I haven’t been following you for very long Mary, but I’ve been embroidering for over 50 years! Not very expertly it has to be said – I’m looking to you and your site to help me remedy that, especially now I’ve retired from my midwifery job.
My favourite embroidery stitch of all time has to be Spider’s Web stitch. It is the first stitch I remember learning back that half-century ago but it took me over a quarter of a century to realise how very versatile it can be and how much ‘bang you get for your buck!’
Dear Mary Corbett,
I’m very excited about The Blue Peacock Embrodery kit giveaway. Our youngest daughter move to the west coast, over 2,000 miles away, and loves Peacocks. To win this kit and to embroider this for her would give me such delight and would make me feel like I was giving her a lasting memory of our love for our daughter. Please know that your gift would mean so much to me and the appreciation of your kind consideration would bring such joy.
Kind regards,
Lee Ann S. From, KY
Thank you for the chance for this beautiful kit.
I love the lazy daisy stitch. I thought it was a funny name when my grandma taught it to me and it reminds me of her.
My favorite stitch is eyelet stitch as it adds a delicate touch to any embroidery piece
My favorite stitch is the stem stitch, probably because it was the first stitch I ever learned, and because it has a nice flow to the pattern.
Pick only one? I guess I’ll pick the basic running stitch because it’s the first one I learned as a child and it got me started on a lifetime of enjoyment.
I love giveaways, especially when they involve fiber! My favorite stitch would be the Lazy Daisy stitch. Probably because it almost always involves sewing a flower. That makes me smile.
Many people will think I am crazy but I love French knots. I usually have a Teresa Layman project in my rotation. I find the knots so relaxing and I can look forward to a knotted project when I want something relaxing.
The Blue Peacock project is beautiful. Thank you for writing your daily post and the great give-away.
Sally A
The peacock kit is so beautiful. I bought the Embroidery Stitch Bible and have been trying new stitches. I like doing the couched lines. It’s so easy to do and work around curves, also, it’s very unique looking. Thank you for a giveaway.
I think my favorite stitch is the French knot.
When I was 18 I bought a gross of peacock feathers. My plan was to put them on the skirt of a long dress I was making. I didn’t do that, and isn’t that a shame? But I loved the feathers anyway. My favorite stitch is the bullion stitch, because it can be so many things, including stumpwork which hovers above the ground cloth.
How fun! What a beautiful pattern! My favorite stitch is the double running stitch. It lends a clean line to intricate blackwork designs. I’m not always successful in getting it completely reversible, but when I do I sit back and feel a great amount of accomplishment.
My favourite stitch is Stem Stitch.
It is so simple and very versatile.
It can be used for outlining, filling and of course stems. On several occasions I have used it in preference to long and short stitch and the like.
I would love to make this for a friend for next years Christmas present, it’s never to early to start right?
My favorite stitch is the stem stitch because it’s so versatile.
Thanks for the chance to win!!
The fly stitch seems to be at the top of my favorites. Able to change length of the stitches , thus so many variations available
That’s a hard question as there are so many great stitches. I would say the long and short. It is a great filler, goes pretty fast and you can do wonderful color blending with it.
My favorite embroidery stitch is button hole stitch! It is so versatile – little stitches, big stitches, you can make it round or square or something in between. My grandmother taught me to embroider when I was 5-6 and I have done hand embroidery to one degree or another ever since. I have just started doing crazy quilting and this would be a lovely motif to work into a block!
I love peacocks, the colors never end. I like to use satin stitch, can look like a painting.
Gorgeous. Challenging. Maybe more doable than the
Hummingbirds but just as lovely. I especially like satin stitch
for its smooth and Luxurious look. I hope I win. I need a Lucius temptation to pick up my Needle again after so long. Thanks for the opportunity.
My favourite stitch is the french knot – because I’ve only just mastered it and I’m so pleased that I don’t have to avoid them any more!
The peacock kit is lovely, keeping my fingers crossed! Thank you for the opportunity 🙂
My favorite stitch is the backstitch because I’m been using it a lot on vintage dishtowels. No counting or deep thought required while working it.
Thanks for the chance to win. My favorite stitch is the feather stitch. Always (try) to find a way to use it on every project.
The peacock kit is so beautiful I love the colors! And the French Needle is a wonderful site. Good service and lovely products. My favorite stitch has to be the stem stitch. It is versatile, like a fill stitch or for an outline or even a stem.
I think my all time favorite stitch(so far) is the chain stitch. It has so many variations, and can be embellished in so many ways, and, it is a challenge too sometimes.How many strands of thread to make it look good, how short of a stitch to go around that curve? As well as being a great stitch for heavy borders, it can be used as a fill stitch with those endless variations. It can be smooth, or filled with texture. What more could you want in a stitch.?
Thanks for the giveaway, Mary!
I very much like long and short. One can be so creative, and can have different effects with long and short.
I think my all time favorite embroidery stitch is long and short. It is a real challenge to me to get it to look just like I want when I am blending colors and it yields a realistic look. I am a realist in my stitching.
My favorite stitch is the stem stitch. I like it because it can be used to outline, to show definition, to make a subtle shadow or as a filling stitch. It is sort of a no brainer stitch to use when you can’t figure out any other stitch for a particular area on a pattern.
Thank you for the chance to win this beautiful kit. Favorite stitch is the Feather stitch
I am a beginner…..but love learning all I can from your site! So far, I’m thinking the stem stitch is may favorite, as I can make it look good. Thanks for a chance to win.
My favorite stitch is the padded satin stitch. I never liked doing a satin stitch because I could never get it to completely cover the fabric underneath and it looked flat and terrible. Then I started watch your videos and the old light bulb appeared and I tried it padded and watched how my threads lay down and now I’m a convert.
Thanks for a wonderful website, especially those fabulous videos.
What a wonderful give away Mary! I am an almost experienced embroiderer. I do many different types of needlework that use various embroidery stitches. My favorite is satin stitch. When done correctly it produces delicious results. I have been following your articles on tips for starting a big project and I am inspired. Keep up the great work! Your blog is invaluable! Jobidd
wow, that’s such a wonderful kit!
thank you Laurence and Lisa for the opportunity! and thank you Mary, if it wasn’t for your devotion to peacocks this giveaway would have never sparkled
picking a favourite stitch seems like an impossible task, there are just too many! I love working French knots, Bullion knots, Lazy Daisies, Bargello, Satin stitch, backstitch, .. are something I love to add whenever possible.
but after much thinking I realised I knew which stitch I liked best even before you asked the question: cross stitch, but more precisely the second half of the cross stitch. the one that crosses the stitch and makes it full.
I always get a feeling of accomplishment once I cross that second leg, it gives the stitch its “sense” and true colour, volume, direction – and makes me feel like I’ve DONE something, almost like crossing an item off the list.
My favorite stitch – and I’m still learning to use it – is the long and short stitch. I love the realistic look of it. I’ve not been embroidering for long, but I am learning quickly, thanks to your instructions. I wish I’d found your site years ago!
I adore French Knots! It is very versatile indeed. You can fill in lovely flowers, create beautiful hair, and so much more! Stitch on!
My alltime fave embroidery stitch would have to be the stem or outline stitch. It is easy and soooo very useful. I can use it in all of my embroidery projects from plain embroidery on a pillowcase to beaded embroidery on a victorian style handbag to crazy quilting and it is all good. It is the first stitch that I teach to my students and it gives a lot of bang for the buck and for the beginner it looks really nice with a little bit of effort. I really like it when looking at vintage linens with embroidery, especially red or blue work where the embroiderer just used the stem stitich to do the whole design. All in all useful, pretty and confidence building in one stitch! Who could ask for more…..
Love the kit…My favorite stitch is the stem stitch…my Mom showed me how to do it when I was a very little girl.
French knot – they’re fun to do, add texture to the piece, or they can be used to work an entire piece.
Mary:
Well, this is fun!! I have two favorite stitches – the French knot because it’s fun to do and makes pretty accents and neat fill. The other is the feather stitch because it is just so cute!
Thanks for bringing sunshine to this dreary, foggy day.
Leeanna
My favorite stitch right now is probably beaded palestrina stitch. Beautiful texture and not too hard to work! Plus I love that you can space beads quite evenly with the stitch. Love it!
Thanks for doing a give-away, Mary. We sure do love this community in this corner of the web!
The french knot is my favorite. It is a quick way to have texture in, on, or around anything. jancarall-stuff@yahoo.com
I am not sure I have all time favorite stitch but I do like the bullion. You can create so many wonderful flowers with it.
I like the blanket stitch, but really really like the hungarian braided chain stitch you taught a while back. I have used it in several projects in place of a running stitch which added more definition. thanks for your videos and your inspirations.
OH BOY!!! It’s so much fun to participate in your give aways, many thanks. This kit is scrumptious!
Gotta say the French knot is my favorite; it feels like dancing when I’m filling up space with bunches of those pretty little knots.
Chain stitch. One of the first I ever learned to use, and it is so versatile.
My favorite embroidery stitch is the Palestrina knot because it gives a nice finish to an edge. It is so beautiful and I love to do them
The fly stitch seems to be at the top of my favorites list. Being able to vary the length of stitches there are endless variations of stitches.
I think my favourite stitch is the split stitch… I use it allllll the time and I was surprised when you had that post a while back about how it gets a bad rap, because I love stitching it. I recently finished stitching a piece that didn’t use any split stitch at all and felt like I had somehow betrayed myself by not using it 😉
I think my favourite stitch is the split stitch… I use it allllll the time and I was surprised when you had that post a while back about how it gets a bad rap, because I love stitching it. I recently finished stitching a piece that didn’t use any split stitch at all and felt like I had somehow betrayed myself by not using it 😉
My favorite stitches? Both the satin stitch and the French knot are my favorites because they must be done meticulously to look their best! The winner, I suppose, is the French knot. I use it for many things! It can enliven a rather ordinary embroidery work. I love seeing it and I love adding it to my embroidery!
Thank you for the opportunity to win this gorgeous prize!
Sheryl
I’m just a simple gal. I love the chain stitch. And I would love to win the peacock kit, so thank you for a lovely giveaway!
Well…for a long while now it has been the “satin stitch”…Throughly enjoying using it for padding/fill and finish…Working on a Strawberry and it makes me smile!
My daughter loves peacocks!
My favorite stitch is the chain stitch because of its variations and ability to tie together the different parts of a design.
My favorite embroidery stitch is the bullion stitch used in dimensional embroidery. It can make the leaves of a rose bud, or the petals of a daisy! It can make the body of a bumble bee or a scalloped border! It adds dimension to any piece it is used on; I can imagine the possibilities on a peacock pattern….
My favorite stitch is the humble stem stitch. It’s easy, but there are so many things you can do with it. Not to mention, it was the very first stitch my mother taught me.
I am thrilled that you are giving away this kit. I love peacocks!! Being mostly a crazy quilter my favorite stitch is the feather stitch in all of its forms and varieties. This stitch can be tightly regimented of very organic. It can follow a line or a seam or wander from patch to patch. It’s wonderful as a base for further embellishments. It’s great to accent with beads. I love the feather stitch. Thanks again for all you do!
Sarah
I love the peacock in this kit I have been practising the long and short stitch which I find challenging but it has become my favourite stitch. I used to stitch with my mom and have recently began to stitch again I would love to do this peacock.
Thanks
Susan
My favourite stitch is the lazy daisy. It’s such a pretty stitch and easy to do. Thank you for the generous giveaway and the chance to win.
My favorite embroidery stitch is the stem stitch followed closely by the French Knot. Both have wonderful rhythm as you stitch – love that!
I would love to embroider this for a friend in Australia who loves peacocks. I learned to love them when my grandparent’s elderly gentlemen neighbors purchased two who woke me up every morning of my visits with a “WAKE UP” scream. It was their tails I loved and not their raucous noise!
My all time favorite stitch is the satin stitch for its beautiful sheen and the challenge of getting a smooth even finish. That is followed by the cute French knot because it’s so much fun to make. Then there’s the darling daisy stitch and the meandering feather stitch. That’s why I love to embroider. It can take a few or many different stitches to create a lovely finished piece.
I’m new to this site which I found on Pinterest. I love the daily inspiration and information. It must take a lot of work and I heartily thank you.
My favorite stitch is the French knot. It was something I loved doing as a kid. All of my older relatives embroidered including my mom. The knot was just fun to do and still is.
My favorite stitch is the buttonhole stitch. It very versatile. You can embroider a seam or make a wheel,make it double and vary the sizes of the stitches. I love the peacock kit. Thanks for the give away.
My favorite stitch is the French knot. I had trouble with consistently producing this stitch as a beginning embroiderer. I was therefore a bit intimidated by it. With practice, though, it became one of my favorites!
I like the split stitch the best. It can be used in many ways, going in any direction you want. I was only taught a limit of stitches when I was young and am now at 63 I’m branching out to new stitches thanks to your site.
This would be a wonderful kit for me to branch out and learn more stitches.
Thank you for the chanch to win, and so much information you give.
Sondra
Hi, Mary.
Thanks for this peacock kit give-away. It’s gorgeous.
My favorite stitch is the stem stitch. It’s easy to do. It’s neat. It’s textured. It can be embellished with wrapping. It can be an outline, a monogram, a filling, etc. What’s not to like?!
Beth
My favorite stitch is the bullion. I love to embroider roses
On all kind of things and then use stem stitch for stems
And often leaves. The bullion, once you get into rhythm
Creates all kinds of images from small animals, baskets
Etc. it can keep me amused for hours.
I looked at the peacock and resisted but would love to work on it as I
Recover from end of month hip surgery.
Oh, I don’t think that I could pick a favorite stitch. Every time you do a new sample with a stitch that I’ve never done before then that is my favorite!
I’m just getting back into embroidery, but love a challenge. I do make quilts and doll clothes too.
My favorite stitch (today) is the split stitch. It’s a great stitch for outlining and as a fill stitch, and much easier than the chain stitch.
Thanks for the chance to win this beautiful kit.
Hi
I love stitching the bullion stitch and next favorite is the stem. I can use the stem stitch almost any place I stitch.
Nora D
I would have to say it is the humble backstitch. It is eminently useful, plus you can dress it up with whipping it/weaving it etc! Great for defining/outlining areas.
I have always loved peacocks too! Their colors are breathtaking. What a beautiful project. It is hard to choose a favorite stitch, but I do love the satin stitch.
I love giveaways! My favorite stitch is a Jessica stitch. They are so cute and easy to do. I love the finished effect.
I love peacocks (they are part of one of my SCA badges, and a memory of my father)!
My two favorite stitches are the stem and chain stitch. I use them in embroidery projects ranging from modern and medieval clothing embellishment, pouches, pillows and quilting.
Plus the chain stitch was the very first fancy stitch my mother taught me, when I was as old as my daughter is now (4).
Hmm, tough question…for surface embroidery, probably stem stitch. For counted work, maybe queen stitch. It’s so hard to choose!
The stright stitch, is my favorite as this basic stitch starts beginners to the joy of handwork.
I LOVE the peacock. My favorite all time stitch is the fly stitch. Why? Because it is so versitile by going outside the applique you can give it one look or flipping it you get another. It is great with solids or variegated. It is my go to stitch
My go to stitch is stem stitch, which I love because I can do it fast! And it does so much.
And I have a soft spot for French Knots and bullions!
Oh my goodness!!!!!! I would so love to win this kit!!!!!! I love the colors of peacocks!!!!! Honestly, my favorite stitch is an outline stitch!!!! I love the back stitch in cross stitch!!!! I love outlining the items in a stitchers!!!! I love taking my black marker and outlining items when I draw and color!!!!! I like the way an outline sets the elements off!!!!!
Thanks,
Brenda Kuss
Love the look of satin stitch when I get it right. Finally got my cataracts taken care of and can see to stitch again, so makes spending time in the hospital with sick husband much more enjoyable and I get to finish my last project started last year before both eyes went south on me!
My last name is really Peacock! I love French Knots the most.
Have been embroidering since a young child and I am now in my 70’s. Only knew basic stitches but favorite is the Daisy stitch. Now I am in the process of learning more stitches, especially the Brazilian Embroidery.
My absolute favorite stitch is the bullion. You can do so many things with it. I got hooked on bullions when I did the Grandiose Mum Brazilian embroidery design by Threads in Bloom. Some of my mum tendrils ahd 200 wraps. I fell in love! I would love to do this peacock as a stitch -along while I am still home bound because of foot surgery.
I love french knots, I know, I’m crazy, hahahha, but I love the effect they have.
I love chain stitch best, because it can be used plainly or dressed up with multiple threads or colours into fancy work, it outlines nicely but is also great for filling, and it’s a good easy stitch for busywork when watching TV.
(French knots come a very close second however)
Recently learned to do the long and short stitch from Susan O’Connor with follow up instructions on your website. I was intimidated at first but the pinkeep turned out fabulous! So my favorite stitch and one I want to continue to pursue is the long and short stitch. I have been doing cross stitch and smocking for years and dabbling in embroidery. This kit looks like a bit of a challenge but I believe I’m up to it.
I love stem/outline stitch and I use it all the time! Love to vary the length, colors, thread weights/textures, packing the stitch-love all the different looks!
I lived for nearly 20 years in Miami, Florida in a neighborhood where wild peacocks roamed freely. I’ve always loved their beautiful plummage but did not care for their noise during mating season. When I first heard the call I thought one of my neighbors was beating a child.
My all-time favorite embroidery stitch is four-sided. I use it both in counted and free embroidery. And I cannot think of a better way to celebrate my birthday [October 10] than to win the peacock kit.
Hi Adrienne. I know what you mean about the peacock’s cry. My husband and I were staying on a resort on the Bay Islands of Honduras when I heard the cry for the first time. I couldn’t imagine what it was and went hurtling outside to see who was being tortured. As soon as I saw the peacock strutting around with his tail dragging behind him, I realized who the culprit was. One of my favourite children’s books is The Children of Green Knowe by Lucy M. Boston, and in that, the only thing that saves the little hero is the cry of the peacock warning of impending danger.
My all time favorite embroidery stitch is the back stitch. Although it takes up more thread i like the concentration it demands and with a little careful stitching, I can get a gorgeous effect with simple designs. I use it more often than I should ……
Mary, thank you for all you do to continue the love of needlework! My all time favorite stitch is the Chain Stitch. I love how the Chain Stitch allows fluid movement.
This is such a beautiful kit and I would love to win it and improve my stitching skills. My favorite stitch is the very most simple stitch…embroidery back stitch. It gets me going on a simple project and I can complete it. Thank you sew very much for your amazing blog posts that are filled with such great information. Creative Stitching Bliss…
Satin stich because it’s 1 of the only stich’s I can do that looks half way good!
My favorite stitch is the Lazy Daisy stitch and the chain stitch. But the more stitches I learn the more they all become a favorite stitch. Thank you for this chance to win.
Have a super great sewing and stitching day!
My favourite stitch is the bullion knot
I’m not very good at ….yet!! but I’m working on it but really I just love all stitches its fascinating to me that there are so many and thats why I like Mary’s page as it shows me loads!!
hope I win that kit is amazing!
I really love the long/short stitch. It makes filling in large areas so much easier and better looking (I think) than a satin stitch. I used this stitch on a hot air balloon and it was wonderful.
I love peacocks too, they are so beautiful, especially in flight!!!!
My favorite stitch is chain stitch with a tambour hook. It’s fast to do once you get used to it, but it’s still an incredible challenge for an embroidery beginner. It may not be the loveliest of all stitches, but I’m a terrible quitter, yet I haven’t given up on learning this. The tambour beading is gonna take a little more perseverance.
In non-tambour embroidery, I love satin stitch, because it’s so hard to get it perfect, but worth the effort.
Thanks for the opportunity of wining this colourful and varied kit. Yours looks just wonderful. My favourite stitch is usually the one I am using at the moment, and currently it is Bayeux stitch, as I am working a piece about the Battle of Stamford Bridge, which preceded the Battle of Hastings.
Hello!! Fancy meeting you here I said Bayeux point, too, down at 248.
That is an even fight between Palestrina (so pretty!) and the frenchknot. I especially love French knots en masse.
My favorite embroidery stitch is the Lazy Daisy (detached chain) with all of it’s variations. I like it because it is easy to learn and the numerous variations give stitchers a wealth of ways to use this one stitch.
My favorite stitch is the chain-stitch, because it was the first one taught to me by a dear friend – who has since passed on – many years ago while camping. Overnight I chain-stitched every shirt sleeve and collar that I had with me!
Thanks for the opportunity, and happy autumn!
Peacocks. Oh those cocky males. So beautiful. My favourite stitch is stem stitch. It’s easy and rich. Thanks for this.
Without a doubt my favorite stitch is the French Knot – let me count the reasons why…
1. I can use lots and lots of them to texturrely fill an area.
2. The make simple organic flowers.
3. I find it therapeutic to continuously wrap the thread around the needle when making my French knots.
4. It makes a nice contrast to the flat stitches usually done in hand embroidery.
5. Finally it can look like a fancy embellishment by changing the floss.
What a gorgeous peacock! It will be interesting to learn all the stitches required.
My favourite stitch is the leaf stitch because no matter what kind of thread you use (Brazilian, DMC, silk) it looks beautiful.
Karen R
Stem stitch is my favorite because it is versatile and pretty.
Picking your favorite stitch is worse than choosing your favorite child. Every new stitch is like a new friend to welcome and enjoy! Did I mention we live on Viaje Pavo Real? That loosely translates to peacock road.
WHAT A WONDERFUL GIFT ESPECIALLY FOR SOMEWONE WHO DOES CHURCH NEEDLEPOINT AND EMBROIDERY. I WOULDD FEEL SO BLESS IF I WAS THE LUCKEY ONE.
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR ALL YOUR WONDERFUL ARTICLES, HINTS TIPS AND INSTRUCTIONS. TO LEARNE SOMETHING NEW EACH DAY IS A BLESSING. AUDRENE
Herringbone stitch
I love the satin stitch! It’s still a challenge for me, but it is such a pretty stitch.
My favorite stitch is the french knot/colonial knot. I use it not only in emboridery but needlepoint for the wonderful texture the stitch adds. Thank you for the chance to win. Norma W
I enjoyed reading through everyone’a favorite stitches. My favorite stitch of late is the fly stitch. What a beautiful leaf it makes!
I was actually going to make my husband buy this kit for me, but if we can save the $55 after shipping I’m down.
My favorite stitch, so far, is the Hungarian braided chain stitch. I love the texture it gives when worked in rows right next to each other. Also it’s pretty darned fast to work up.
What a beautiful peacock to embroider! I love surface embroidery. My favourite stitch is the stem stitch because you can “sew” it.
I love any stitch that I am doing at the moment….and I love peacocks!!
French Knot. I’m relatively new at embroidery, but have done French Knots for many years and am proud of how nicely they turn out. Recently I started Japanese embroidery and did my first Japanese Knot. Imagine my surprise to discover I have probably never done a French Knot – always Japanese knots! (I believe you wrap the needle in opposite directions). This is the kind of discovery I make all the time being a lefty. I love embroidery!
My favorite stitch is the padded satin stitch. Not that I have mastered it by any means, but it is still the one that I gravitate to. And honestly it is the one stitch that people seem to notice and comment on.
Love your website and look forward to your blog every weekday!!
Stem stitch is my favorite stitch. I have used it for lines and fill. It is so versitale.
The back stitch. You can draw a picture or write a message. The rest are just embellishments that make the work sensational.
My absolute favorite embroidery stitch is the stem stitch. It’s my base. Its my outline. It’s my zen stitch.
Sweet I would get a chance to blow it up for crewel work! Lazy daisy stitch Is my fav. It is so easy and give a great 3D effect. Works with most thread.
Other than the oldie but goodies – Stem & Fishbone – I would have to say my “new” all time favorite stitch is the Hungarian Braided Chain. It makes a beautiful stem, it is a great filling stitch for leaves or other areas, it isn’t too hard to learn (especially with your tip of leaving the working stitch loose until you have the needle placed for the next stitch) and it’s fun to work. And – it’s soooo pretty!!
Mary,
Thank you for a chance to win this beautiful kit!
My favorite stitch is the bullion. I love to watch it develop as I do the wraps. Also, it is so versital because it can be used in so many ways…wooly insects to curved flower stamens. I must admit that anything beyond 20-30 wraps is still a challenge for me.
Will you be doing this kit also? I hope so. Your instructions and advice really help to keep my enthusiasm at a high level.
Sally
My favorite stitch is probably the long and short stitch because I find it can be applied in so many ways! I appreciate when someone takes the time to do it well as it can make your work absolutely shine!
My current favorite stitch is scroll stitch but I have learned so many more on needlenthread that it is hard to choose just one. The peacock kit would be a thrilling challenge.
I love peacocks! I used to have them as pets. My favourite embroidery stitch, believe it or not, is bullion knots. I used bullion knots to make flowers, bear, boat, bee and bee hive, etc. I love to twirl the threads around the needle and make designs using bullion knots.
Susan Low
I have peacock feathers I bought at a Farmer’s Market a long time ago sitting on my desk at work because my sweet little girl cat won’t leave them alone.
My favorite stitch is the backstitch – sturdy and useful.
My favourite for looking at when finished: satin stitch for its shine. My ‘use most often stitch’: stem stitch for its versatility.
But my favourite for actually stitching has to be the be the Hungarian braided chain stitch. I love the moment when you tug on the thread and it closes around the needle!
Hi Mary and greetings from the Uk.
My favourite stitch is Palestrina because it’s difficult enough that every time I come to do it I have to remind myself how by looking in your stitch guide but I so love to do it and trying to get it right with the tension and just enough pull on the thread. Also, it serves so many purposes as a filling stitch or as a linear stitch or for decoration.
Jacqui Wirral, U.K.
My fav stitch is the button hole stitch – so many ways to play with it!!
Oh this kit is SO beautiful! My favorite is the french knot 🙂
What a lovely thing to do, especially on a Monday! My favorite stitch has to be the simple cross stitch as that is what I seem to be spending a lot of my time doing of late.
I like to use the fly stitch and colonial knots.
My favorite so far is the bullion stitch because you can do so much with it. I think my favorite application is as an edging because it creates such a beautiful scalloped trim. I love however to learn new stitches!
My favorite stitch us the stem stitch.
I love the effects you can get using it
Oh I love this kit! Thank you for the chance to win one.
I guess my favorite stitch is the chain stitch, as there are so many ways
You can use it and also change its appearance. I did a crewel work pony
That used rows and rows of chain stitch for the tail and part of the mane
And it turned out so nicely. I like peacocks with their gorgeous colors
And would love to stitch one. sue in Bermuda.
Hi Mary!
What a beautiful kit! Peacocks are one of my favorite animalls, and I have a lot of peacock stuff, so I was really pleased to see this kit.
My favorite stitch is the outline stitch, because of the lovely flowing lines you can make with it, suitable for stems, lettering, etc.
Thank you for the giveaway!
I am very new to surface embroidery but already I can tell you that I love doing long and short stitch used in silk shading. I can blame you Ms. Corbet for this new addiction! I am totally hooked!
I love a good, clean back stitch. I can do it without hardly paying attention.
First of all, I love peacocks. I have stitched one so when I first saw this one on your site I checked it out but found it cost too much for me to buy. I would be delighted to win this draw. My favourite stitch is the French knot. It is fun to do an I love the effect. I stitched your crewel rooster and especially liked how it worked on his comb.
Happy stitching everyone, now that the colder weather is here, I can sit and do it without feeling guilty about not working outside.
My all-time favorite stitch is the satin stitch!!!! I love feeling the smoothness of the stitch once completed. I would put myself in the beginner category though I am not an absolute beginner. I could never get a neat satin stitch till I read your article on how to get it right. And now I just love the beauty it creates!!! I feel very happy every time I finish something in satin stitch!!! Thank you!
my favorite stitch is the chain stitch, because you can use it for anything: outlines, fillings, straight shapes, round shapes, you can whip it or cross it for interesting textures
would love to stitch this kit!!! love the chain stitch it is so fast and easy for me and fills a lot of ground. thanks for the give away!
That’s a difficult question. There are many stitches that are fun and interesting, but an all time favorite would need to be a stitch that you rely on, use frequently, and enjoy the results. Although I like making the Queen Stitch, it’s the CHAIN stitch that would be the choice for me. It is so versatile and can be used in almost any situation. Thank you for the opportunities you give us to advance our stitching knowledge and to win glorious prizes.
My favorite stitch is buttonhole. It is a challenge to work correctly with even tension, but it definitely packs a whallop when you do Elizabethan embroidery or, in other words, detached embroiderly.
I have a second favorite and it is stem stitch. I learned it at my grandmother’s knee and enjoy working it with small stitches to make an evenly flowing uniform line. I hear her voice in my head when I am working, exhorting me to make the back as neatly as the front!
Good Morning: Thank you and your sponsors for the opportunity on this give-away…hands down it is the CHAIN STITCH. Oh my gosh what a lovely stitch and so adaptable. I just finished Helen Blomkamp’s Jacobean Twist and the chain stitch on the branches made them look like real branches…and it is a stitch, when taken slowly and precisely, looks flawless….Joanne
I love doing the double herringbone, I embroidery on linen for medieval activities, viking is my persona.
Tammy Huls-Trenton, SC
I love peacocks! My favorite embroidery stitch is chain stitch. I like the way it flows as you stitch it.
I love to laugh until I am in ‘stitches’ so I adore all the stitches. Your tutorials are so good that I can chuckle instead of cry as I poke away. Thank you.
My all-time favorite embroidery stitch is Chain Stitch. There are so many variations of this very easy stitch, e.g., heavy chain stitch, cable chain stitch, raised chain stitch band, checkered chain stitch, rosette chain stitch, double chain stitch, crested chain stitch and many more.
The peacock is beautiful! Thanks for the opportunity.
My all time favorite stitch (so far) is the Hungarian braided chain stitch. I love it around curves and I love the weight and I love that it looks a little complex but isn’t terribly difficult to do.
Peacocks are fabulously exotic and it sounds as though this kit would give the perfect amount of guidance for me
I love french knots. They’re just so satisfying when you get them right. And I love the texture when you run your hand over your piece of stitching.
What a hard question to answer, I love all the stitches, but I suppose the one I do the most is Split Stitch ( I know it is a simple little stitch but it gives some amazing results) My all time favourite though is the little french knot……….Sort of Monet.
Lovely give away, thanks Mary
My favorite is the fishbone stitch because it makes such nice leaves.
Somehow the regularity of its filling is satisfying.
Portuguese knotted stem stitch
I love this stitch because it has such texture and I find it great fun to do! I often embroider onto my paintings – directly onto the canvas (though it is often tough to go through all the layers of paint and canvas and whatever else I have affixed to the work)and so I want a stitch that has some oomph! I will work it in all 6 strands of floss or pearl cotton to get even more beef to it.
And thanks for your blog. I love it, even though I seldom sit and just stitch, I always get a chuckle and some great info from reading it.
I love, love, love the French knot. It can be used for so many projects and I love to see it when the FK’s are used for an entire top of a tree or someone’s hair. It’s a happy stitch for me but it is hard to pick just one. Thanks for the wonderful give-away – I love peacocks too, they are so beautiful.
I love the chain stitch, its so fast and easy- almost hypnotic!/
What a gorgeous kit. I’d love to have it to stitch through the winter with it bright colors.
My all-time favorite stitch is probably whipped chain stitch because it makes such a lovely textured line. If you whip it with a different color from the chain base you get a lovely bi-colored line. It makes a fine candy cane on a Christmas piece. I use it mainly for initials, most recently on a wedding purse for a cousin using a dark champagne for the chain whipped with white. It was decorated with flowers like your set of letters.
I’m a newcomer to Needle ‘n Thread, and I love it!
I love the beautiful colors of peacocks. I even use an incredible photo of a peacock in a tree (Bing photo) as my computer desktop background because it’s so breathtakingly gorgeous to me!
My favorite stitch is the basic backstitch because it’s the first stitch I ever learned——and I use it on virtually everything. (I also love the basic blanket stitch and the French knot.)
Thank you for your wonderful website!
In love and light,
Lynn
A Peacock kit would be wonderful…I never did much embroidery until I started watching your FB page and blog. Thanks for the inspiration.
My favorite stitch would be the back stitch ….because you can do so many things with it…it is the foundation for the wrapped backs stitch and several others.that make it look really complicated
I guess cross stitch, because I do more of that. I have been doing some bullion knot and drizzle stitches lately that I really like. Wonderful giveaway, just love the peacock!
I love the queen stitch!! It is really easy to do once you get the hang of it. It is a connection to past needlework which I like as I am a history buff!!
Love this kit as I have a friend who owns peacocks and loves them!!!
I love love love the chain stitch. When I embroider I like to get into the zen zone where combining colors with this most basic stitch is the focus of my creative decisions. Simplicity shines !
I think my favorite stitch will have to be long and short, because needle painting my favorite thing to do.
Satin and split stitch were close to winning, though.
The Chain Stitch! It was the first “fancy” stitch I learned as a child and it’s a fairly versatile stitch.
I don’t usually do this, but my sister just made a gorgeous peacock quilt and I would love to make this for her. My favorite stitch is the stem stitch, but I love to try new ones. And thank goodness for your site. It’s much better than looking it up in a book!
I love the queen stitch. I know, lots of stitchers scream at the thought, but, I just love it!!! There!
I love peacocks. My favorite stitch is the satin stitch — so pretty on so many things.
My favourite all time embroidery stitch is the feather stitch. It is so versatile .
Hope I win!
Judith
A beautiful giveaway – thanks so much! There are actually two stitches I enjoy doing – satin stitch and French knots. Satin stitch can be so beautiful (when done well! Oh, to get that outline exactly even!), and French knots are just fun. I’m longing to try long and short stitching, too.
My favorite stitch is the back stitch, it is the first stitch that my Grandmother taught me back in the early 1970’s for outlining my designs. Then I am also partial to the french knot. I love seeing all the different stitching projects and stitches that you share with all of us. I try to practice using most of them in my embroidery projects.
Good Luck fellow embroiderers!
My all-time favourite stitch is chain stitch. You can do so many things with it, different whipping, different thread, 2 needles. And it goes on and on.
My favorite stitch is the blanket stitch. It can be used to finish edges in sewn items and it can also be a decorative stitch. I love dandelions because you get two flowers for one and I love the blanket stitch for the same reason.
hello from France ; my aka is lilipaon which means in french lilipeacok ; I collect everything on peacock especially brooches but also posterstamps etc.
I have made some work with chain stich and satin stich, I love every kind of embroidery.
I really like long and short satin stitch. It is a very nice filler and worked correctly you get an amazing graduation of colour.
Tania
My all-time favorite embroidery stitch is the CHAIN STITCH because it is strong and useful in its elemental form and it is the sturdy, healthy, enduring basis of a wealth of other stitches–both substantial and delicate. Hurrah for the CHAIN STITCH!
Thank you Laurence, French Needle, and Mary Corbet.
The French Knot. I add them even if not called for in the pattern.
I like the rya stitch because of its versatility After it is stitched it can be left loopy or cut to make it fluffy. I made a pillow using yarn with this stitch for my Mom back when I was in college and she still has it! Shhh, not telling just how long ago THAT is! 😉 Beautify peacock kit! I think it will be even more beautiful to actually see it in person.
Wow..my favorite stitch, that is hard as I am happy with the creation as I progress using the appropriate stitch to get the look I am trying for, however if I really narrow it down I would have to say the satin stitch. WHY…because it allows one to shade in other colors bringing the subject to life.
I’m a very determined almost beginner, so I don’t have a lot of stitches in my repertoire. So far, my favorite stitch is the lazy daisy stitch. It’s an easy stitch to create, and has a pretty end result. The Blue Peacock is a beautiful kit with some stitches I would be excited to try, such as the chain stitch. Also, I love the blues in the kit.
Algerian eyelet.
I love all counted stitches, but this one is so easy, and the result so spectacular.
What a beautiful and colorful piece – I have lately been working on mostly on painted canvases and it would be fun to switch back to an embroidery piece, especially one such as this. I think one of my favorite stitches has to be the brick stitch, but I also love colonial knots. Anyhow, thank you, Mary, for such a generous offer.
Well, since I have been stitching for many years, and have taken classes from many teachers all over this country, I know many stitches. Having said that, the most versatile, dependable stitch I know is still basketweave.
My favorite stitch is the satin stitch. I enjoy doing it and I love the sheen of the fibers when the light hit it.
I have to say my most favorite stitch of all time is Nyzanka, a heritage Ukrainian stitch. It is my favorite because I am 100% Ukrainian (all 4 grandparents) and I just found my living relatives in Ukraine this past year. In honor of my heritage I took it upon myself to learn Nyzanka and I did and I was able to share it with my relatives. This is what heritage is all about – culture, family, and tradition. It made me happy that I conquered the stitch and that I was able to share it with my EGA guild and with my relatives. (I tried to attach a snapshot of my Nyzanka, but couldn’t make it work.)
My favorite stitch is the lazy daisy because it makes me smile every time I use it.I am going through breast cancer treatments right now and I grab any bit of joy to get through this.
My favorite, so far, is Portuguese knotted stem stitch. I just recently used it to outline a cat I stitched as a gift for a friend, and I love the way it feels. To me, embroidery is something not to just look at, but to touch, to run your fingers over and appreciate the variations among stitches that way as well.
My first impression of the Peacock
It should be done in mostly silk thread
to bring out the beauty in the brightness
of the feathers
I would choose satin stitch
because it would blend all the colors
in a spectacular array of many color to
give it that shimmer it well deserved
It will be my first masterpiece
thank you so much Mary for all the daily
info–have saved all in a (MaryCorbett) file
Outline stitch because it’s the first one I learned.
Right now I’m really in love with the interlocked chain stitch. This kit is utterly gorgeous and I love all things peacock, so I hope I win! eeeee!
My granddaughter loves peacocks, I would love to do it for her.
My favorite stitch is the bullion stitch, and variations of it.
I love the cast on stitch and I live to embellish especially with beads. I love it when friends ask, please show me that. Thye would love to see a peacock stitched.
This kit is gorgeous. I have only been embroidering and cross stitching for 5 years when I retired at 65 and recently started Goldwork. I taught myself by searching the Internet and, of course, your website has a tutorial for so many embroidery stitches. I think my favourite stitch is stem stitch as it is so versatile and looks so nice.
My name is Bobbie Warren, my favorite stitch is a french knot cause it took my awhile to figure out, then alight came on
Hmmmm…satin stitch? Or maybe the detached buttonhole. Don’t forgot the stem stitch. Oh, I give up! I like too many to pick just one.
Thank you for offering this giveaway. This is a beautiful kit and the colors are wonderful. I haven’t done this type of stitching for quite a while, but it doesn’t look too complicated and would be a great refresher.
My name is Bobbie Warren, my favorite stitch is a blanket stitch
My favorite stitch is a split stitch. Versatile, functional and my reflexive go to.
My favorite embroidery stitch is the CHAIN stitch. It’s super easy, super fast & looks super nice on a project.
Thanks….Elaine Gregory
Embroidery was the first handwork that my mother taught me when I was young. There are so many wonderful stitches to learn. My favorite is the satin stitch because it is so smooth and makes such an impact on any project. I love to add a little satin stitch to a redwork project. Peacocks are gorgeous and I love The Blue Peacock!
My favorite stitch is sadly a bit dull. It’s the split back stitch. Don’t get me wrong I love using lots of the other fancier woven, braided and detatched stitches but some how I always come back to the split back stitch. I find its economical with thread, you can do fantastic detail in it and it shows off the natural sheen of the threads.
Love this kit. Mt favorite stitch is french knots. Love to see them mounded with small seed beads sprinkled about
French Knot has to be my favourite. The sense of fulfilment I got when I did it right for the first time was great and now it is my go to stitch whenever a little something extra is needed on a project.
I love peacocks. My husband will not let me have them where we live. If I can’t have them live I would enjoy stitching a peacock.
I love split stitch, for me it’s fast & easy and covers a lot of ground.
The buttonhole stitch. It is functional and decorative both.
I have a peacock decorated dining room.
My favorite stitch is the buttonhole or blanket
stitch because it has so many uses and variations
This is such a pretty peacock!
I love the french knot, it’s versatile and fun to do!
This is such a gorgeous design. Thanks for the opportunity to win it.
My favorite stitch is the chain stitch. When I was in college I did an entire tapestry on the back of a suit jacket in chain stitch. It’s still awesome.
(Reverse chain is currently overtaking my favorite, though. I find it’s easier to keep the stitches an even length.)
My favorite stitch is the Vandyke. I like the way it makes a neat tie-down with minimal effort, and that it is so versatile. It makes graceful Jacobean leaves and petals, and also geometric filling. That peacock is sumptuous!
There are so many to choose from, but among them I believe the chain stitch is one of my favorite. It is so versatile, you can use it to fill in, to make strait or curve lines, you can embellished them. Well I been embroidery for about a year now and the more I learn, my favorite change. Thank you for teaching us.
I recently I learned the colonial knot and it has become my favorite because it is more dependable than the french knot. I also think it has more definition.
Embroidery stitches are great because of the varied effects you can create with them. I have always liked the French Knot because of the texture it creates and the fact that you can make them larger or smaller. The French Knot would have to be my favorite.
My favorite stitch is the simple stem stitch. I use it a lot on tea towel designs; especially the vintage ones. I use all one color to have a red work or vary the colors to create fun color combos to match my decor. I really should be brave and try more stitches. Winning the Peacock kit would force me to expand my range of stitches.
Oooh. It’s a toss-up. Plain old chain stitch for versatility – fill, outline, detail… But I feel guilty for not saying “double running,” without which almost all of my projects would be bereft.
I love the blanket stitch. It challenges me every time in keeping them the same length and the same width apart. It is not the most exciting stitch but I love the challenge every time I use it.
I love the chain stitch – it was the first “specialty” stitch I learned as a beginner in the 1960s. I made many daisies with this stitch! The tablecloth I am working on now has some chain stitches in the pattern. Love it!
Trouble with update. Message was sent before my stitch was sited. Bullion is my favorite. I have made so many I have need to rest my shoulde!
Thank you.
Beautiful design! My favorite stitch (so far!) is the buttonhole stitch. It can be used for so many different applications–my favorite is lace making!
Hi Mary, My favourite stitch or is it stitches? is long and short. I am totally in love with needle painting and this is the ideal stitch for it. You can bend it, curve it, do shading, add highlights and some times even embroider over a little mistake. The peacock will go nicely with the peacock head I have already done. Oh well one can dream 🙂
Kind regards, Elza Bester Cape Town xxx
I absolutely love feather stitching! I like all forms of it! I like using in on children’s wear, on crazy quilting, on adult garments, on the borders of samplers….I just love to do it everywhere! It was challenging to learn, and to make it even. Although I’ve done it many times, I still need to practice it on a scrap before I work it on an actual project, just to make sure my rhythm is consistent, and my stitches are even.
I hope I win this kit. I LOVE peacocks! So much color on one creature! I know I would have fun stitching this!
Exciting – thanks Mary!
Hard to pick one stitch, but I love the rhythm of the coral knot in Schwalm whitework. Once I get going, it’s so relaxing. And if you aren’t relaxed, the stitching will show it!
Thanks, Sarah
OK, Mary – you’ve finally done it! I WANT THIS ONE!!! I do have a peacock-theme in my life. In fact, about 6 moths ago I “installed” (only word I can think of) a full size taxideremied peacock in my entry-way (tail down, not out!!) — his name is Beaumont (beautiful mountain, because we have Mt. Rainier in our backyard). So he needs an accompanying embroidery!
My favorite stitch? I DO like a lot of them. Most of them, in fact. But the stitch that popped into my mind was Portuguese Stem Stitch. I just really enjoy doing that one!!! Somewhere high up on the list is the Fly Stitch, as well. It is fun, easy, and SO versatile!
Happy Monday, Mary.
I believe my favorite is the feathered chain stitch. It can add character to a design, and can be used alone for a border.
What a fun give-away… I don’t think I really have a “favorite” embroidery stitch. For the purpose of today’s post I’ll say I like the bullion knot stitch. For me, they’re fun to make. You can shape them to create flowers, insects, all types of things. Perhaps I’ll have a chance to make a few if I win the ‘lottery’ of the Peacock design…otherwise I’ll just go practice on my scribble-cloth. Thanks for the give-away Mary (& “friends”).
I’d have to say my favorite stitch is the satin stitch but i am still fairly new to embroidery. I love the way it makes the thread shine and it looks beautiful when i embroider eyes and lips onto my handmade dolls. Thank you for the chance to win such a gorgeous embroidery kit!
Beautiful peacocks!
I love the French knot! Elegant, simple, and versatile.
I love equally cross stitch and backstitch.
Oh, that’s tough! I love stem, but I think tent (petit point) is probably my all time favourite, as I keep coming back to it.
My favorite embroidery stitch is the bullion stitch. I Love the many uses for this stitch, especially beautiful bullion roses and other flowers.
For simple projects I like the split back stitch or split stitch.
My favorite stitch is the Queen Stitch (Rococo Stitch). I learned it about 20 years ago in a Lauren Sauer class–green thread on the same green linen. A challenge, but so pretty–the texture, the way light reflects–and fun to do.
My favorite embroidery stitch is the French knot. It the first stitch my grandmother & mother taught me. I enjoy the beauty and simplicity of the stitch. It is also a constant reminder of them. They have gone since I was 20 years old. I am not 47. Thank you! Cathy Moro
I love the satin stitch. But I’m not very good at it!! I’m doing some cross stitch right now and I love it!!
-Berina
Moxie Craftie
I love the padded satin stitch, and the fact that a very simple stitch, the split stitch, can make it look so good! I like the smoothness you get when you place your threads just right. I like the fact that it starts small, then keeps building layers until the last layer is stitched, just outside the split stitches.
Tent stitch because it looks so clean and fills so neatly
Forgot a identifying last name so go with g
Such a beautiful embroidery piece! My favorite stitch has always been the bullion stitch. I find it so elegant and eye catching. I need to improve mine but still like seeing it done on embroidery pieces.
Ooo. This is such a great idea!!!
My favorite is bullion stitch. I was a hard stitch for me to master for some reason, but once I did I fell in love. I have had lots of little girls around me in my 67 years. I love to work bullion roses to the delicate little baby dresses and trims as they get older.
Hello…
Love peacocks..I worked in a garden center that had several peacocks and loved their peculiar call almost sounding like an over sized annoyed cat. It made laughter come alive in the drudgery of our day.
I am enjoying many new stitches and love the short and long satin stitch that is used to fill large areas like bird feathers and the subtle shading that can be achieved and am fascinated with the weaving stitches that can done with assorted colors. My embroidery knowledge has been pulled up many notches with your tutorials. Thanks for the great information.
I love the French Knot! I think that it brings the piece to life. I really like the dimension it adds to the piece too.
Generous giveaway – so lovely!
My favorite stitch is the tried and true satin stitch – what would our beloved flower, bird and leaf projects be without it?
Maryjo in California
The embroidery stitch that I prefer is the cross stitch… because everything is possible with this stitch , modern or classical, romantic or not … I have been practicing it for years and years…I learnt it when i was a child and I’m a grand-ma, now….
Hi Mary, I would love to receive this peacock kit. I am an intermediate level stitcher, and have been wanting to try a peacock. And blue is my favorite color.
How does one pick a favorite stitch?? I would say that the straight stitch is one of my favorites, in a 5 stitch fan configuration. Very effective done with two different colored threads in different weights, add French knots, lazy daisies… I use these all over!
Thank you,
Nicky
Thank you for the give-away! My all time favorite stitch is the Queen stitch. I think it’s my favorite because I worked so hard to learn how to execute the stitch well. I love the look of those wonderful little diamonds in flowers and other fillings where a little bit of WOW factor is needed.
I would also love to do the Peacock…the colors are amazing!
I am sure that I love peacocks as much as you do. I would love to have a chance to win this prize.
I have always loved a chain stitch. Its simple and decorative.
My FAV embroidery stitch??? That’s a difficult question, cause the last stitch I learned usually becomes my FAV. So with that in mind … SPRAT’S HEAD and using Caron’s Watercolours threads. It looks fabulous!!
Mara Aditajs
Hi Mary.
That question #3 is a toughie but I think I have to say that most recently, my favourite stitch is stem stitch. I have invested recently in a whole series of Bayeux Tapestries from The French Needle, and while two of them seem to be x-stitch, the others are the full size wool-stitched kits. Each item in the latter type has to be outlined in stem stitch before it can be completed with Bayeux stitch. It sounds like a lot of work – and frankly, it is – but it adds so much to whole design that I find myself positively looking forward to doing the step stitch around whatever part of the design I’m up to at the time.
I have to say that I also really like long and short stitch even though I’m not really proficient in that too. I’d never heard of it till I started reading your blog but the way you can blend one colour into another is very appealing.
My favourite stitch is the French knot. At school I used to doodle vines and leaves along the edges and in the blank spaces of my books and paper. I always finished them with a cluster of dots representing a spray of flowers. It took me a long time to master the French knot, but now I can recreate my childhood doodles in embroidery, and it works as truly beautiful edging on anything!
It’s not very sexy, but it has to be the stem stitch. It can be used for so many purposes, and it’s such an encouraging stitch because a beginner can make something beautiful right off the bat using only stem stitch.
Thank You for the chance to win this lovely kit. The colors are just incredible! I’m not a very talented stitcher – but my favorite is the French Knot – I think you get a lot of bang for your buck! Also I am old enough (63) to know all the words to If You Know Susie. My Mom played piano in a little dance band from the 40’s on. We had lots of music in our house growing up and I’m thinkin this was an Al Jolsen from the 30’s. Best line – There’s none so classy as this fair Lassie. Thanks Again Toni in Oregon
My favourite stitch is Bayeux point – I’ve just had to learn it fir a community embroidery project in the style of the Bayeux Tapestry, and it’s utterly absorbing!
My favorite stitch is the Holbein stitch or double running stitch. It’s very quick and easy so I don’t have to think after a long day at work. More importantly it puts less stress on my wrist than other embroidery stitches.
Love the peacock. Favorite stitch so far is the X stitch. Can be adapted for almost anything.
Wonderful giveaway. Favourite stitch would have to be stem stitch. You can do so much with it, even make it 3D when you raise it.
My favorite stitch would have to be feather stitch because it makes for great dragon/dinosaur scales!
This peacock kit is lovely and I would love to give it a try! I haven’t done very much embroidery, but I’m hoping to be able to spend more time on it as the winter weather blows in. I don’t have a favorite stitch per say, but I guess I really like stem stitch because I really hate back stitch and stem stitch is a good alternative :-). I also really like to use feather stitch when doing leaves or flowers.
My favourite stitch has to be woven wheels, such fun to stitch and the results are always amazing whatever type and texture of thread is used.
Wow, I would be thrilled to win the peacock kit. Thank you for the opportunity of entering.
I like the long and short split stitch …you can make a face a bird a flower really come alive…almost anything look really great!
marie nigro
I’ve been getting back into embroidery and look forward to new challenges!
My favorite embroidery stitch is chain stitch!
The variations are endless and it is a quick filler with an interesting texture.
My favorite stitch is actually a combination of stitches collectively referred to as “the Bayeux Tapestry Stitch.” I love the textures I can achieve with this stitch, as well as the “quick fill” I can get when covering a large area.
Picking a favorite stitch is like choosing your favorite child. Each one is unique and special. Although, I must say that one of my favorite stitches is the corel knot stitch. It makes the best spider legs you have ever seen! LOL threadartist4 @ gmail.com
I love the satin stitch….it brightens up the end product.
My favourite embroidery stitch is long and short stitch. I learnt this about 20 years ago with an inspirational teacher who was also a brilliant designer. I am afraid I cannot be near real birds as I have an (irrational) fear of them, but love to embroider them, and would love to work the peacock.
My favorite stitch right now is stem stitch I just learned. It makes the overall embroidery look so much neater. Its has me stitching more than cross stitch that used to be my favorite now I can explore surface embroidery. Thanks for giveaway
next is queen stitch a pain but worth it.
Audrey
My favorite stitch is the chain stitch, I look for places to use it. I think why I like it so much is the fullness of it, used in the right place it gives an extra ZIP to the work.
Thank you for this give-a-way; the Peacock design has a nice variety of stitches.
My favorite stitch changes – but probably the one that remains constant is Cast-on & Cast-on Double Stitch. I probably use it somewhere in all my Brazilian Designs. It can be the base of a compound stitch or on its own for bugs, bees, mushrooms and lovely flowers. I especially like the braided look on the edge of the Cast-on Double stitch
I wish everyone posting here good luck ~ but mostly I wish me good luck.
Sharon Shetley in Modesto, CA
My favorite all time embroidery stitch is the chain stitch. For a few reasons! It is the easiest stitch to rip out if I have to, it is firmly implanted in my head…I never have to look it up, and it lends itself to so many ways to embellish it!
Wow, This is a hard question, but I am going to say long and short stitch, because so much can be done with it. I think that it is a stitch that can challenge and make us reach for the beauty that can we can produce from just one stitch. I love many other stitches also, like french knots, bullion, chain etc. I just love embroidery.
I have learned so much from this site – love it. My favorite stitch is theversatile chain stitch. Thank you for your clear instruction. Ellie
I really love the long and short stitch. I’m super into the ombre look and that stitch really allows me to bring that look to life. It’s also the best for doing real looking flowers.
Yeah! A peacock kit give away. I loved it but the website said it was sold out. So double yeah for a giveaway. This is a hard question because I love so many. But if I have to choose it would be the French knot and the bullion stitch. You can do so many interesting textures and animals/insects/flowers with these stitches. I once did an entire sheep in French knots. Love your blog. I look forward to it each day.
I am just beginning to learn embroidery. So happy I found your blog this past week end. Love what I am learning from you.
Back stitch. I have started a project and used this all day yesterday on a project I am attempting. It seems to be working for me now. But, I look forward to learning more.
I would love to give this kit to my 90 year old mom who does Brazilian embroidery.
I just learned the reverse chain stitch and really like the way it outlines.
Thanks for having a giveaway!
I love the satin stitch. It is challenging getting all the stitches just right, but when it is done correctly, the result is beautiful!
I like the blanket stitch. It can be a frame, an edging, a twirly little pathway among the trees – any sort of straight or curved line. It’s simple and doesn’t take forever to do.
Fantastic give away.
My favourite stitch has to be a French Knot, a whole bunch of these can give tremendous effect.
I love the raised chain stitch band–I love the texture and it’s so orderly that it can be easy to work while in an almost meditative state!
My favorite stitch is the stem stitch, I learned it as a little girl and find it so relaxing to do. However I am enjoying learning new stitches and brooding my skills.
My favorite stitch is the split stitch, because it makes such pretty lines and it looks like a tiny chainstitch which is perfect for dollclothes (I’m a dollmaker too). Love this website and the newsletters. Thank you 🙂
Right now my favorite is stem stitch. I used to battle to get it even and disliked it immensely. I have been taking Kathy Shaw’s CQ classes and she has a stem stitch tutorial on her blog, Shawkl.com which helped me correct my problems with even stitches Now I really enjoy the stitch; such a simple fix can make all the difference! Love the peacock kit.
I’m a huge fan of the chain stitch. I love the way it can fill or outline as needed, and I particularly like using it in crewel embroidery. I find it very meditative to do. I’m also a fan of the Palestrina stitch. But that being said, I only started doing embroidery a few months ago so I’m still trying out lots of new stitches. I’ve found your blog really helpful as I’ve been learning. Thanks for the giveaway!
Satin stitch because when done correctly it stands out the most
I love the Rhodes stitch! While relatively simple to stitch, it lends sophistication and a 3-dimensional aspect to every project. It would be excellent as the “eyes” in the peacock’s tail!!
Peacocks have intrigued my imagination since first encountering them at our zoo. They roamed free and I scurried about to find lost feathers to treasure.
The colors are my signature in most of my designs.
My favorite stitch is the stem stitch. It is fluid to out line or add emphasis where needed. I also depend on this simple stitch to create a base from which I’m able to experiment and explore the adventure of free embroidery.
I love doing chain stitch it. They are good as a filling stitch or creating various patterns combining it with other stitches. It’s been a while I am not stitching but I am in love with the colors of this peacock.
Love this kit! My favorite stitch to admire is the feather stitch but mine never look like I want it to.
Lazy Daisy as it was the first one I learned and lead me to others…Thank you for the awesome give away that is awesome.
My favourite stitch is the French knot … single, double, and in a bunch! I do a lot of crewel and Japanese embroidery. The peacock is absolutely beautiful and would be fun to stitch.
My favorite stitch is the seed stitch. It enables me to be creative and flexible and not worry too much about perfection. I can use this stitch in many designs and love the way it can go in so many directions . A beginner can pick it up easily and it makes a super filler. Thanks for the opportunity to win a kit, have some fun with a quick break from work Mauri
Hi Mary, thanks for the giveaway! I love the feather stitch. It can be straight or follow a curve, plain or adorned with other stitches, and can be a single, double or triple feather. It is delicate looking and adds a lot of visual appeal even though it is a simple stitch to do. Looks good on bird and angel wings and lots of other places too.
I love the bullion stitch. It can be made in various colors and lengths. But most importantly–it has movement! I like having fun in my stitching!
Dear Mary,
One of my favourite’s is the bullion knot. I find it so relaxing to get the wraps right to create perfect roses.
Hey cool ideal,
Let’s See my favourite stitch….
To be honest i really can’t decide between the split stitch, which i love and use most of the time
And the german brick stitch, which i just came to try and like for It’s beatiful style
Whish everyone good luck
Awesome! I fell in love with this kit as soon as I saw it. Thank you for this chance Mary!
I think my favorite stitch would be the satin stitch. I love monograms using this stitch. There is nothing more soothing to me than using white silk thread on a soft white handkerchief. The white silk truly gleams in the light and gives the light material that subtle weight at the monogrammed corner. Other stitches don’t seem to have that feel nor the gleam. I can spend hours getting the threads to lay “just right”. It’s almost meditative for me. I know, I’m weird like that.
OMG, this kit is gorgeous. Just the right size too! I guess my favorite stitch would have to be the stem stitch. I use it a lot and love how versatile it is. Thanks for the chance to win this gorgeous kit!
que c’est beau ,tout pinterest le met sur son site mais au point de croix et au ruban ,celui là je ne l’ai pas encore vu mais si je le voyais sur le mu de mon salon quelle joie
I love peacocks – they are amazingly beautiful and of course I want the kit! (What a surprise:)
In my opinion the combination of different stitches gives great result.
I have a hard time choosing which stitch I like the most. It depends a lot on what I’m creating at the time. Today I would say I love the lazy daisy and the French knot. Have you seen the book about creating entire pictures with French knots?
I am a old (person) but new at embroidery and I just love it. I love making ai lot of my own designs. I especially enjoy all the helpful hints everyday
From this website. I love knowing at the end of most days I can relaxe and take up whatever project I’m working on. I love making fun dish towels for my family & friends.
And I love a give away although I seldom win anything ever!
It has to be chain stitch. It’s quick to do, useful for so many things, and shows off thread beautifully. I would love to have this peacock. In our guest casita we have a tile mural that is a peacock and this would be awesome to accompany it.
Hi! I would love this kit!! My favorite stitch–do I have to choose just one?–is well, I guess the French knot. It’s easy, beautiful for filling out flowers, and shows all different angles of the thread.
The Peacock Embroidery is beautiful. I have never done a kit before, but this looks like something I can work on and have a wonderful finished project. I like the french knot stitch the most because it is three demential, fills an area easily and neatly, and most of all , because I think it is dainty and pretty!
I like the satin stitch because it, well, it looks like satin and makes me happy.
I would LOVE to win this. I love peacocks… well looking in them anyway. Recently we had some break loose from a local farm and come by out yard. So beautiful. I don’t really have a favorite stitch… It depends on what I am doing. Lately I have been do a lot of applique and use the blanket stitch a lot which I find satisfying. But I also enjoy learning new ones.
Your photos of this peacock are so enticing, and I’d love to work it. I especially like satin stitch because of its versatility, and it’s especially useful for monogramming.
My favorite is the cross stitch, especially if it is holding down a bead. Thanks for the giveaway.
I love the bullion stitch. There are so many things you can make with it from roses to bees, to frogs, and other wildlife. It’s so versatile you can look so skilled without knowing much of anything.
I would love to try this.
My favorite stitch is probably the feather stitch. I had a difficult time learning how to do it comfortably, but now I love the versatility of the stitch and its light, lacy look. The peacock is wonderful…thanks for the chance!
Rather than having a favorite stitch (which are generally blanket, back, & straight!); I’m trying to improve and perfect my bullion stitch and the Cretan stitch.
This seems the “perfect” project to work on all those stitches and I would love that opportunity to do so.
Thank you,
Susie j
My favorite embroidery stitch? Wow! That’s really hard to say! I love the chain stitch for it’s lovely thickness, the satin stitch for it’s shiny smoothness, hardanger’s picot for its whimsy, and the little x’s of cross stitch because they can, like the alphabet, convey so very much. I don’t think I can choose just one. I love them all!
And thank you, Mary. I also love peacocks!
My favorite stitch is the bullion stitch.
My favorite stitch is the split stitch. It is great as a fill, and often has the appearance of knitting. It can also be used in place of the chain stitch.
My favorite stitch is the back stitch. It packs a punch and gives a final touch to an embroidery.
Hi Mary,
What a beautiful kit and in my favourite colours! My favourite stitch? It would be a toss up between reverse chain stitch and tailors buttonhole.
Ooooh. I love peacocks, and I definitely qualify as a Very Determined almost-beginner. I’ve done counted cross-stitch, as well as lazy daisy and stem stitch, but my absolute favorite is making roses with the bullion stitch in what used to be called Brazilian embroidery. Such texture! Such shine!
Many thanks to you and the generous folks at Canevas Folies and the French Needle for the opportunity.
The buttonhole stitch because I do a lot of wool applique.
очень люблю вышивать французким узелком для меня это универсальный шов + шов рококо. недавно научили вышивать картины в 3d формате. очень увлекательно и красиво
I love Drizzle stitch, because it’s quirky and easy and enjoyable to stitch. Also it always brings lemon drizzle cake to mind which is my favourite cake. So yummy thoughts while I’m stitching.
Beautiful peacocks!
I think the satin stitch is my favorite due to it’s versatility – it comes through when other stitches just won’t work.
Love the peacock embroidery. Has to be laisy daisy, its a bit loopy like me xx
Hi, My all time favorite stitch would have to be The French Knot. It is every easy to do and I think it is a fast stitch. Another reason I like it best is because it can be so versatile just by using extra threads to make it bigger, or two different colors together to use for blending in an area. It can also be used for filling in an area. Thank you!
My favorite stitch is the french knot. I love working this stitch because I get into a rhythm while working them that is very relaxing. I also love the texture they provide and their versatility.
Queen stitch. Love the name the look of the stitch and making them
mon point favori est le point compté, je l’aime, je l’aime .Alors celui-là,je serai heureuse de vous suivre -sachant que je ne le ferai pas aussi bien qu’il faudrait- mais avec tout mon coeur
My favorite stitch is the crescent stitch. I really like the depth,texture and the variety of ways it can be done. I too love peacocks and the fabulous coloring they have. This kit is beautiful and its size makes it doable!
I’m not an experienced stitcher, so haven’t tried a lot of stitches, but the Hungarian beaded chain stitch has really caught my interest. It looks amazing but doesn’t seem too terribly hard, so I will be trying it one of these days.
I do love to stitch queen stitches, but I have no idea why: the rhythm or the lovely texture?
I love peacocks and feather stitch – it has so many variations and just flows wherever you want to go!
My favorite stitch is the stem stitch. It is my best outline stitch and I am beginning to use it as a filler.
Oh my! YES! I bet you’re going to have a lot of entries on this, but I love peacocks, so I MUST enter anyways! I’m still waaaay beginning, but I’m sure I could figure it out and make you proud if I won it.
As for you question, my favorite? That’s hard to choose since I still have little experience. I really liked the shisha embroidery with the little mirrors you did recently. I’d love to do something like that. Create dragon scales! So shiny and pretty.
Another wonderful giveaway! Thanks!
My favourite stitch is the french knot. My grandmother showed me how to do it many years ago, and I recall using it with reckless abandon on everything … jeans, cup towels, aprons, t-shirts … everything had french knots for a while! It brings back fond memories of her and her kindness and patience.
My favorite stitch is the Lazy Daisy stitch. Mainly because it’s the first I learned, and who doesn’t love an easy flower? 🙂
I totally get peacocks! Why use one color where 20 will fit?
Seriously, how can you bear to give this away? My fingers would be literally twitching to put needle to this piece.
My favorite is the ribbed spider web. It’s fun. it’s fiddly, it looks more complicated than it is.
Hello Mary. Just popped into your website for a quick tutorial on couching, and saw this lovely give-away. Thank you! I’ve loved reading the comments about favorite stitches.
I have to say my favorite stitch is the humble eyelet. I just love the way it adds interest and texture.
Love give-aways what a special way to start the week. THANKS 🙂 My all time favourite stitch has to be button hole because it is so versatile – can be used to decorate, edge things and also for needle lace and have so many many variations….
My favorite stitch is the backstitch because I do a lot of word embroidery. I also like French knots! Love this kit, so beautiful.
What a lovely kit! Thank you for offering it to some lucky reader! My favorite stitch is the outline stitch; it’s the first stitch I learned almost 50 years ago and it’s the one I use the most.
Jenny
My granddaughter loves peacocks, I would to stitch it for her
My favorite stitch is the bullion, and it’s many variations
My favorite stitch is the Lazy Daisy, because my Grandmother taught it to me when I was four years old and it is pretty and it is easy, and I always think of her when I do Lazy Daisies.
I raise peacocks and currently have about 30, but I have never embroidered one.
My all-time favorite embroidery stitch is the running stitch. The reason is this basic stitch can be used in so many ways creating a beautiful sampler by using the different variations of the stitch using the whipped running stitch, looped running stitch, laced running stitch and the double threaded running stitch. When using different colors floss the designs you can create are endless.
Patricia Peoples
My favorite stitch is the detached chain stitch or the lazy daisy stitch. My mom taught me this one when I was pretty young, and even now it reminds me of my mom…..and I’m 65 years old!
My favorite stich is French Knot, because it looks nice and cute once I got it right and it wasn’t very hard to make.
Thank you for your generousity Mary.
It’s so hard to pick my favorite embroidery stitch but I guess I’m partial to the French knot. I like how you can change the size of it and how it can be used to create texture.
Thanks!
Well, it is a happy Monday indeed when you are giving away such a beautiful peacock kit. I was drooling on your post about it earlier. My favourite embroidery stitch is – gasp – French Knot. So much fun when you’ve got it under control.
My all-time favorite stitch is the straight stitch. It has a multitude of uses. Alone it can be a seed stitch, strung together it becomes a running stitch or an outline stitch. Several lined up beside each other become the satin stitch or Bargello or long and short satin stitches. When used as an x it is the cross-stitch. It is the foundation stitch for all embroidery.
Thanks for another lovely giveaway!
I love the detached buttonhole stitch. I’ve always loved its texture and once I mastered the rhythm of the stitch it became a joy to do!
Thanks!
my all time favorite would be that little X in Cross stitching I am amazed of what that little X can do in picture to linens.
I really like the split stitch because it is bold when It’s time to make a statement. A cupcake looks cute with some bold chocolate frosting! I find it a good fill as well as outline. Thanks for the chance!
My all time favorite stitch is the chain stitch. It can be used for outlining, filling, and lots of other things! I have done at least one entire project in nothing but chain.
My favorite stitch is the chain stitch. It is such a versatile stitch. Add a little extra and you’ve got a lazy daisy stitch. I often run perle cotton through the chain to, in some cases, make a more substantial chain; or in other cases, to add color. When sewn in a straight line or a curve, it’s a wonderful stitch; simple, but elegant! Janet Steele, a/k/a Sew Hooked!
My favorite stitch is the feather stitch. It is the first stitch my grandmother taught me when I was about five. Whenever I use it I think of my loving grandmother and remember her with love and appreciation.
My all time favorite. I don’t know if I would call it my fave, but I do really favor using it.
Stem stitch. It just does almost everything.
I just love the ropey, textured look.
Only one? I don’t know if I can do that. I love the way different stitches work together in all their many combinations. I really like the basic stitches … while other more complicated stitches look fantastic, it is the old standbys that provide the background, add dimension or outline contrast. Since I have to choose just one, it would have to be the stem stitch because it looks great by itself or in combination with other stitches.
My favorite stitch is french knots. When I was a child the neighbor’s Grandmother came to visit 3 or 4 times a year. She used to teach me a new sewing, knitting, embroidery or crochet technique each time she would visit. The french knot was the first one she showed me. After much practice, she said I was VERY good at it. It sure did make me feel good. I was so proud. I made french knots on everything my Mom would allow. I still think of her every time I do a french knot.
My all time favorite stitch is the bouillon stitch. I find it very satisfying to make. When I am making it at first I think it is not going to turn out and then all of a sudden, after pulling the thread through, it looks great and you can do a lot with it. You can make it long and couch it down or short and make gorgeous flowers with it. Love, love, love it!
I love the French knot. It makes the most beautiful designs! My sister makes the most beautiful cat-tails! I finally am able to make them myself now & love them for so many designs.
Hi Mary
What a lovely kit! And from a Swiss company! I lived in Switzerland for a year as an au pair and my mother was born and raised there in Zurich. My mother was a very talented embroiderer and taught crewel embroidery classes. I was stitching samplers at about 8 or 9 yrs. One of the first stitches she taught me was the simple French Knot and I still love that stitch. It’s so unassuming; yet when arranged together, those simple little knots become something wonderful. They add texture and are so fun! So that’s my favorite stitch – the simple, yet powerful French Knot!!
I would love to have this kit–absolutely love peacocks. My favorite stitch is the bullion stitch because it looks so pretty for flowers.
I have two all-time favorite stitches, French knot and blanket stitch. I had problems for years trying to learn these stitches. Now that I know how to do them I use these stitches every chance I get. Thanks for the giveaway.
My favorite stitch would be the stem stitch, because I’m a quilter, I use it for red work, in crazy quilts, on my embroidery label, for filling it a tree, it’s just great stitch! Would love this to be a center of a crazy quilt piece!
Must admit that usually it’s the embroidery stitch I am currently working on.The most used, as they are usually the most versatile, is stem stitch (especially for borders), satin stitch for perfect fill ins & the ever versatile straight stitch. Oops, that’s 3 types of stitches but the cover a lot of embroidery usage.
My favorite stitch would have to be the lazy daisy stitch. It was probably one of the first more ‘complex’ stitches I learned as a young child. Obviously used for making flowers, I love that it can also be used as a border or leaves, or many other applications, yet is so quick to create in all types of threads.
And speaking of peacocks – the beautiful peacock design makes me think of a tray that I inherited from my grandmother with a tinsel-painted picture of a peacock that I’ve always loved.
I love your giveaways. Thank you in advance for your generosity. My favorite project was a 9-page counted cross stitch project of An Old Woman in the Shoe. I now do a lot of redwork and enjoy doing stem stitch. Although the boullion stitch looks so beautiful, I’ve yet to use in any of my projects. Thank you again for your blog, tutorials, and giveaways.
Hi
I’d love to win the Blue Peacock. It’s beautiful.
My favorite stitch is the satin stitch because
it gives a shiny and clean look to any piece.
Thanks
Peggy of White Plains, New York
favorite stitch is buttonhole. Versatile, can go straight or all around and upside down. In a single row or layered. Love the rhythm of it looping around.
My favorite stitch is the french knot. I just love piling them up to make beautiful stumpwork hydrangeas or using 1 or 3 to make a loveley flower center or fill in some space. They are just so much fun!
This peacock stitchery is so lovely! It is going to be my gift to myself when I retire early next year from my winery office manager job….to win it would be frosting on the cake!
My favorite stitch is the outline stitch – it’s almost instant gratification and is so versatile. I love teaching it to youngsters using variegated thread…..
I like the challenge of new stitiches when I start a new project . I particularly like the bullion stitch. You can create so many lovely objects using it….like the flowers & figure in the book A Z Of Embroidered Motifs.
I have had so much fun learning all the stitches you have on your site. It is hard to pick just one! I guess it would have to be long and short stich! But a good second would be satin or maybe stem or maybe bullion… There are to many to choose from!!!!
My favourite stitch is the long and short. I find it a difficult stitch but I have persevered, practising for months and now feel it is a little above acceptable as far as finished results. I love this stitch for its versatility and the beautiful shading that can be accomplished with it on any project.
My favorite embroidery stitch is the chain stitch. I just love the way it looks and it is fun to make! I enjoy bird designs and the chain stitch is a natural to use. Makes great tree limbs!!
My favorite stitch is the chain stitch. It is so versatile and can be modified in so many ways. It also can make a nice filler or left open, makes lovely butterflies, flowers and so much more.
I think peacocks are amazing and they are definitely one of my favorite birds. I sure would love to work on an embroidery project with the peacock as the centrepiece.
Maria
Um-m–favorite stitch — that depends often on the day. However, if I were to pick just one, and only one, I think I’d say the Rococo stitch. It’s quite old – I love the texture resulting with one color, the progression of color available when using more than one.
And the Blue Peacock is gorgeous! I’d love it for my living room!
Thanks….
I love the blanket stitch because it works up fast. You can really get into a rhythm with it if you’re using it as a hem or decorative trim, but it also has many variations that can create other interesting effects.
My favorite embroidery stitch is the basic stem stitch. It was one of the first stitches I learned as a child, and I still love it.
The peacock is amazing, and I would love to win it. Thanks for the chance!
Love peacocks – India’s national bird.
This is an intriguing kit…my favorite stitch is long&short AKA realistic technique AKA needlepainting – capturing nature as close to possible with needle and thread is fun and challenging!
My favorite stitch is criss-cross hungarian. When I first started needle-pointing I took a big Santa canvas to one of my dear friends (the one who started my needle point addiction 🙂 ) and asked her for recommendations on some interesting stitches to use. She showed me the criss-cross hungarian stitch and gave me some Neon Rays and Kreinig threads to get started. After repeated tries, undoes, and a few bad words, I FINALLY started to “get” the pattern and the stitch! Since then I’ve come to love using the stitch not only because it looks great but also because it helps me to remember not to give up when a stitch or compensation or pattern is hard. If you keep on keepin’ on, eventually you can do it!! Love, love, love that peacock!!!
Who doesn’t like a glorious strutting peacock?
My favorite stitch is the bullion knot. They make wonderful flowers.
My favourite stitch is the buttonhole stitch. It is very usefully generally, but mostly I do it as detached buttonhole in Elizabethan embroidery and I love how even it is and how quickly it can fill an area. and when it’s padded …
your embroidery work is most beautiful. i learned to simply embroidery and never saw such beautiful stitches before. it peeked my interest so much that i am looking for a book that will help me learn this new, old way. i have kept all of your daily posts as learning tools. ( i can only afford to purchase one book) do you you have any suggestions?
i would love to win this peacock. it would be a perfect place to begin exploring this old, new to me, world of embroidery
all the stitches are my favorite.
thank you for making this available. kt
Hi Mary
Another great give-away! I absolutely love any form of stitches that can be used to outline, but my real favourite is stem stitch. It is so versatile. It can also be used for filling in areas also.
Mary I am so interested in this giveaway. I have been working on my needlepainting because I love the look of it. I’m still working on making it looking smooth but getting better all the time. This would be an awesome opportunity to do more.
Thank you for your generosity.
My favorite stitch is the satin stitch. Sometimes it is challenging but the smooth soft look is very relaxing to me. It’s the first stitch I look for in an embroidery project.
Favorite stitch is the French Knot. It is so versatile. Can be used side by side for outlining, here and there, fill in, combined with and to enhance other stitches using all types of threads, yarns and ribbons. I have used it to do a total picture in nothing but French Knots and it was such fun and different.
I love to embroider in all kinds of styles, but my favorite stitch type is probably the long and short stitch known as “thread painting.” I discovered this stitch because of a friend who has a technique for using it over photo cloth. It is kind of like doing a paint by number picture only using thread instead of paint. Needless to say, I had to try it and did my own bird picture over photo cloth. It came out great for a first time attempt and I was hooked! The long and short stitch is just so fun and can be used in so many applications.
In Christ,
Gail J.
I love the chain stitch. It can be used by itself or in lines, make flowers or even do a whole picture in just chain. The lengeth can be varied and of course it looks lovely in any color out there. I would love to have this kit as it is so cheerful and I am in a surface embroidery phase.
Tanis
My favorite stitch is the feather stitch, from the first time I made this stitch a few months ago I just loved it.
Thank you for hosting this give a way and for your wonderful website which I and many others would be lost without.
I love this peacock! Favorite stitch? Hmmm… I enjoy backstitching on a cross-stitched piece, I like doing French and colonial knots, and I love Rhodes stitches, especially Rhodes hearts 🙂 Depends on what I’m working on at the time.
Thank you for creating this wonderful work and for having the giveaway. That’s so very nice! My favorite stitch is Holbein stitch also known as blackwork. I also like assisi work known as long armed cross stitch . Thank you again!
Wow, gorgeous peacock. I love straight stitch versatile and great for thread painting and filling in space
I actually enjoy making french knots!
My favorite stitch is the long and short stitch. It is very challenging for me and I am constantly practicing it, because one day I want to make a gorgeous chasuble. I do not know who the actual priest it is going to be made for, but I know I have to make it. Another reason for it being my favorite stitch is because it is used in Stumpwork which I want to learn so badly and who could not help but fall in love with the beautiful thread painting of Trish Burr which uses the long and short stitch extensively? I live in Wisconsin and have not find a source for a beginning class. I am still practicing and teaching myself but someday I would like to be able to stitch human figures. It is a goal for my chasuble.
AHHH! Which do I love? I will have to go with the French Knot. No matter the type of thread or the size of the knot, they always make the embroidered piece more beautiful and elegant.
My favorite stitch is the one I’m currently doing. In other words, I love them all and the joy they give me.
Hello: It took me about 5 seconds to decide – the french knot. I love how it looks in both DMC stranded cotton and also in ribbon. I love to make little tiny flowers, buttons, eyes etc out of it, and I also love to leave it very loose and make it look like hair or leaves on a tree……
I put the peacock on my wish list as soon as I saw it last week! Just beautiful!
My favorite stitch is the chain stitch…. Detached chain for flowers, chain for stems and leaves. So versatile!
My current favorite stitch is buttonhole, it seems to make many things from flat to dimensional, leaves, flowers and clouds.
I LOVE the French Knot. It’s great for all types of filling or decorations and I am working on several miniature designs for rugs using entirely the French Knot.
Thanks for the opportunity. Deb
Well, it is hard to decide. I think I would have to say eyelet is my favourite. It can be done so many different ways. The layout can be changed and the tension….I guess I get a lot more possibilities from just one stitch.
I am a newbie so mostly I use cross-stitch – this kit would be a great challenge!
Chain stitch is my favorite. I love all the variations that can be done with it – great fun to work with.
What a gorgeous peacock. I love fly stitch – it is a terrific filling for general embroidery and the shapes that can be generated on a counted grid and then embellished (think Wessex) are endless. Thank you Mary for another wonderful giveaway.
Hi Mary ,
I have a few favourites stitches but my number one has to be fly stitch .
It suits so many embroidery projects from crazy patchwork to decorating an embroidered doll i am making ! Love to meander along ,attaching beads ,ribbon stitch ,french knot roses ,it always looks so pretty .
Kind regards Michelle .
Choosing one stitch is hard!
I think my favourite would be blanket stitch. This is the first stitch I mastered as a child and it stuck with me through many years of mending and “making do” and is still with me as I enjoy embroidery.
My second favourite might be the next stitch I learn… off to find out what “Queen Stitch” is…
As a newbie to embroidery , I find the simple blanket stich anything but simple.
If executed with creativity, it’s uses are mind boggling. Not only is it practical in edging or joining fabric, it can also produce intricate and diverse decorative stitches just by changing the colour of the threads or adjusting the length and angle of the stitches.
The peacock is simply stunning and I would really like an opportunity to do it!
the Bayeux stitch ( or couched satin stitch) I love the way it fills in and it hold up to hard wear. I also love that it conserves thread.
Mary, my favorite stitch is the buttonhole stitch for its versatility. I like to make buttonhole flowers, stitch it close together for a bold outline, applique, hardanger, use it as a basis for creating a lacy effect with thread weaving, and many more. It can be heavy with perle #5 or dainty with floche or one stand of floss. Oh, yes, and if one is so inclined, one may make buttonholes! I would love that peacock kit. Thanks for the offer and, as always, for you blog. Best, Charlotte
French Knots . I like being able to use different threads and colours and covering a small or large area of fabric.
Do I have to pick just one? I love the queen stitch especially when it’s worked using just one strand of floss. Second favorite would be the 4 sided stitch.
I love the peacock pattern. It works beautifully with my favorite stitch the long and short stitch. I like the way I can play with color with long and short stitch. I can make the piece fit the colors in my decor. The size of this one is great as well. A very doable project. My aunt had peacocks who roamed the yard and I loved it when they spread their tail feathers.
Beautiful.
My favorite Stitch is the bullion Stitch. It certainly wasn’t until a few months ago when I stitched a Punto Antico kit by Kathryn Drummond. It was a table centre cloth and it had a gazillion bullion knots! By the time I finished it I could do them with my eyes closed. It also made me realize that you really need to use milliners needles. The result is perfectly formed bullions.
My most favorite embroidery stitch is the Chain Stitch because it can be used in so many different ways.
SandyB of SW Coastal OR
I think my favorite embroidery stitch is a blanket stitch. It finishes so pretty and is so versatile.
I think the split stitch – I like using it as an alternative to the backstitch. It handles curves so much better. Thanks for the giveaway!
Wow. What a treasure to do this. I remember seeing a white peacock in the Grand Cayman as well as in Nevada a long time ago. The Blue are truly a work of art by our creator.
I love the stem stitch and the cousin split stem ,for its versatility in following shapes of odd sizes, for fill , outline, kids blocks for crazy quilting and more. Thank you for your website and this opportunity.
Sherry M. at Superstition Mtn.
My favorite stitch is the Queen stitch. I love the delicacy of it. Others freak out yet I love it. This peacock is just magnificent.
HI Mary
Gosh I love that kit! mainly because I love peacocks and my favourite colour is blue (I am a simple soul).
As to a favourite stitch, I am sure that I should refer to some fancy stitch so I can pretend to have more talent than is the reality, but actually I would have to say long and short stitch. This is because I love silk thread painting. To me the best embroideries are those of scenes or animals and flowers and nothing brings them out better than long and short stitch (although satin stitch is also a requirement.
Regards, Lucy
I love doing the Herringbone stitch. I also love the basket weave stitch.
My favorite embroidery stitch it the padded satin stitch. I like this one the absolute best because I think projects worked in this stitch look so very rich, lush and full and it’s not that easy to make a project using the padded satin stitch look goon unless one is careful to keep the stitches extremely close together when stitching.
Thanks so much for the chance to enter!
Hi Mary,
My favorite stitch is stemstitch. I love the rhythm of it when you stitch it and it gives such beautiful curves.
Elly
Wow what a beautiful giveaway.
My favourite stitch used to be cross stitch which I have done since a very young age, but the the last two years I have been introduced to such a variety of different embroideries it’s difficult to choose. I would have to plump for long and short stitch as you can make magical pictures with this.
My favorite stitch is the satin stitch for it’s versatility and elegant look whether flat or padded, in cut work or in white work, for a fancy scalloped edge on your embroidered piece or the center of a flower. Relaxing to stitch with rewarding results.
My favorite embroidery stitch is the French knot. My grandmother used to make pillows from kits where the whole design was filled in with French Knots. It was my first exposure to embroidery and the first stitch I learned. I felt so grown up when she let me help embroider one for the first time. To this day, I think of my grandmother when I make a French knot.
I love the feather stitch. The slightest change and the stitch looks different. You can do so much with it.
my favourite stitch would have to be chain stitch – with its variations it can be a whole embroidery all by itself – especially those lovely crewel colour graded fillings.
My favourite is probably the stem stitch. It can make lovely tendrils, outline shapes and even fill them in. And I can do it! Thanks for the giveaway.
What a perfect give away! I would love to this for a friend but cannot afford it at this time.
My all time favourite stitch is detached bullion stitch. A stitch used in Brazilian embroidery. It is very difficult but looks quite impressive. I was really impressed I could even do it!
My favorite stich is the long and short stitch. It’s a great fill stich and makes needle painting a breeze!
I love the long and short stitch. I love blending my colors, and sometimes even different fibers to create an image with movement and realism. My goal with stitching is to create a realistic, seamless image.
I love padded stitches, it gives a nicer, more professional finished look.
Never win anything, in line or otherwise, but what the heck, why not enter. Thanks for the opportunity to win such a beautiful designed piece.
What a great giveaway! I’ve been drooling over that embroidery kit since you showed it last week.
My favorite stitch is the stem stitch only because I was so excited to finally figure it out (I’m a fairly beginner embroiderer….)
I would love this kit as my maiden name was Peacock and I love them! My favourite stitch is long and short because there is no shape I can’t fill in with glorious colour and make it look amazing or life like.
The satin stitch is my favorite stitch. A properly executed satin stitch (especially with a silk thread) has a polished look that is hard to get any other way.
Hi Mary,
My favorite stitch is the mosaic stitch. It moves along quickly and is easy to compensate . The peacock is my 88 year old BFF’s favorite design and I would love to stitch it for her 89th birthday! Needlepoint is my passion!
What a beautiful kit. I have so many stitches I love doing- how to choose??? I guess stem stitch with its variations (eg Portugese stem). There are so many ways to use it and it is so versatile.
My favorite stitch is buttonhole. I find the rhythm of the stitch to be so relaxing. Thank you for the opportunity to win this lovely kit.
Oooh! Huzzah!
So hard to choose which stitch I love the most. Let’s see:
I love satin stitch for its versatility (and it’s hard for me to screw that one up!).
I love bullion knots and French knots because they’re perfect for 18th and 19thC costuming, but they’re a challenge to get them looking perfect. It always takes me a few tries.
I love split stitches for their utilitarian purpose if I’m hand-sewing clothing.
And I love feather stitches for how neat they look in groups.
I would love to make this kit for my 3 yr. old grandson who loves “beaky-bocks”!
Naturally, I love the feather stitch!!
Chain stitch has to be my favourite – an ancient and wonderfully versatile stitch – it can be flat, twisted, interlaced, thin, heavy, braided and then you can stitch a few together to make a pretty flower with background leaves
My favorite stitch is the Spider Rose. I love it in Silk Ribbon, large or small, in braids, Perle, even in floss if it fits into the right spot.
That is a tough question. Would have to say the simple ole chain stitch. Can be used detached for leaves, flowers, can be used as a filling when you don’t want a completely solid fill. Can be used to vines etc. So all in all a simple but varied use stitch.
I find it very satisfying to sit and sew back stitch for hours, not very interesting but incredibly soothing 🙂
I’m mostly a counted cross-stitcher so I have to say cross stitch. But I also like double-running blackwork!
That’s a tough one! My favourite stitch is stem stitch as it is versatile and an easy one to get people started with. It works for outlines, filling in areas, letters, etc.
The peacock is lovely – and timely as I just recently finished a multi-media piece that used peacock hurl, the individual barbs from a peacock’s feather!
Love French knots — delicate little circles that bridge regular embroidery and stump work. My birthday is the 12th of October and I will be 65. Hopefully the time will finally be there to pick up a needle and create beauty for the sake of beauty.
Am getting back to hand embroidery after being primarily a quilter during the last few years. I have found that I like incorporating both in my projects. My favorite stitch is probably the satin stitch right now.
Never liked my outcomes using this stitch until I learned the correct way to execute it using the tutorial on “Needle N’ Thread”!
Hi, I love peacocks & that is such a beautiful piece. I’d love to win it.
My favorite stitch is the French Knot.
Thank you for such a great website.
MY FAVORITE STITCH WOULD HAVE TO BE THE FRENCH KNOT. I LOVE THE WAY IT MAKES YOUR PROJECT STAND OUT SO NICELY. AND CAN BE USED IN MANY WAYS. LIKE IN THE PEACOCK KIT……. IF I WIN OF COURSE. FRANNY KAY H. FROM CONNECTICUT.
Hi Mary,
My all time favorite stitch is the bullion stitch, it is very versatile, i can make flowers with it, and even little animals, the possibilities are endless !!!!! I have been admiring the peacocks kit at the French needle, it would be like winning the lottery !!!
What a difficult question Mary!!
I think my favourite would be the Colonial knot. I am currently making 9 candlewicked squares which will form a quilt. I will intersperse the squares with my own hand-made bobbin lace!!
One of these days it will be completed!!
Oh my goodness! Peacocks are my favourite! I’m working a cross-stitch peacock at the moment, but you can never have too many.
I love all kind of lattice stitches; I think they make the most stunning fillers.
Hi,
I have to say that I love embroidery so much that I had to think carefully to make a choice. I decided that Satin Stitch would be my favourite. It is so beautiful to look at & so lovely to do. It is like painting with thread. When done properly it is gorgeous.
June
The bullion stitch for flowers and fun outlines.
My favourite stitch is buttonhole. It’s a very versatile stitch. It looks great on its own, but also underpins many decorative techniques like needlelace, stumpwork, and cutwork.
Hi
Love peacocks, especially the vintage ones.
My most favorite stitch would have to be the long/short stitch as the color blending possibilities are so lovely.
Thanks
Favorite stitch is the split stitch. So easy to “move” the thread from side to side incrementally so it can lay just right! If I elongate it, it approaches the long/short stitch. Very versatile!!
My favorite stitch is the long and short, used for shading.
I think the stem stitch is my go to stitch. It’s versatility slows it to be use side by side fill stitch and using this for an outlining stitch is my favorite use of the stem stitch.
My favorite stitch is the outline stitch! Thanks for the giveaway!
Chain stitch, versatile and usable across all sorts of styles and timeperiods
Besides loving them all, French knot just might be my fav… Stands alone, or in a crowd.
My favourite is the bullion stitch. I love them made into roses. But they can make all kinds of things, and can be all sizes. They take a little bit of practise but they are great.
My favorite stitch is the bullion stitch because it is fun to make and they give so much texture to the piece! I am going to try this stitch on some newer pieces and see how it goes. I love peacocks and would love to stitch this out!
I love to do split stitch, buttonhole stitch, stem stitch and the coral stitch. I can’t really pick a favorite though.
The split stitch is absototalutely my all-time favorite, because it’s easy enough for kids to learn in a flash, but is also so sophisticated and versatile that it’s the preferred stitch in Byzantine church embroidery for creating the faces and hands in embroidered icons. When I worked in a Montessori school I taught the kids split stitch so they could monogram their cloth napkins ~ they did a great job and even the most energetic (as in hyper) ones would focus beautifully on what they were doing. Love love love!
That peacock is really elegant! My favorite stitch is the raised stem stitch, especially when I combine two or three strands of different colors in the outer layer and vary the width and heft of the padding. The stitch adds a “three-dimensional” quality and keeps me interested and challenged.
My favorite stitch is the bullion because you can use it in almost any project to give dimention ,like flowers,stems ,legs on abird etc
This peacock is gorgeous!
My favourite stitch is long and short. I just love how realistic things can look with this stitch, and the grading/shading of colours that can be created.
My all time favorite embroidery stitch is the straight stitch. It allows me to cheat my heart out when I’m having trouble figuring out how to make unfamiliar stitches that I just cannot seem to learn. A few straight stitches and a lotta fake-it-til-you-make-it and usually the straight stitch will let me come up with something fairly close to the stitch I was trying to make. I tend to look at recipes as “mere suggestions” also. lol.
The backstitch is my favorite because it can be used for
its basic purpose as well as the basis for so many other stitches.
Zelma S.
I like the button hole stitch because of its diversity. I was intimidated with it at first, then once I got the hang of it I realized that I could use it for so many things. I plan on using it this winter getting more comfortable with it and stump embroidery/bead work.
Thanks for another great giveaway. I love the idea of the small format for an intricate design.
I like the bullion stitch, mostly because it was such a struggle when I first encountered it, until I read about straw needles. Proof that the right tool makes any task easier!
My favorite stitch is the French Knot. Because it’s just fun, and besides the outline stitch it was the first stitch my Mom taught me.
Hi Mary, love your blog and all the teachings, I am pretty new to embroidery and would love to enter for the peacock embroidery.
My favourite stitch is Bullion stitch, I love the roses and lavender with bullion, so effective and my friends love the gifts with this embroidery stitch.
Thank you again Mary
Sue
I love the feather stitch. I am a crazy quilter and I just love how the feather stitch looks along seams, especially when little beads and flowers are added to the tips of the feather stitches.
I saw this gorgeous kit in your previous story and loved it. My favorite stitch is the Stem stitch which is as versatile as Jennifer describes in her comment. You could do a very pretty small embroidery just using this stitch in multiple ways.
Thank you for the chance at winning a Giveaway.
This kit is amazing!! Peacocks are one of my favorite animals!
In thinking about my favorite stitch, I would have to say Split stitch and Chain stitch. I find that they are great for so many things. Outlining, filling in and for texturing.
Hi Mary!
What a beautiful piece the peacock is! I’m probably a little more advanced than you describe but I would love to do this one. A day without stitching is, well, just not a day!
My latest favorite stitch has been the dove’s eye because it’s such a delicate stitch. It took me a while to figure out that the needle goes Over the thread but once that made its way into my brain, I just love doing them! I’ve been in to Hardanger lately so I’ve done a lot of them.
Thanks for this chance to win such a lovely design and threads!
Susan
I use the blanket stitch a lot, I work with wool in many projects. In the process of learning all the beautiful embroidery stitches and am having so much fun. Started a notebook of all the wonderful stitches that I have found on the net, didn’t realize there were so many. All the peacock’s I have seen are gorgeous and would love to win the kit. Thanks for the chance.
French knots– I learned to embroider at the age of 6 and that was a stitch I just couldn’t do. For the longest time I just did a small straight stitch, as I got older and mastered the French knot, I loved the way it looked, much better than the straight stitch!
My favorite stitch is the buttonhole. It just feels so good when I am stitching it, especially on wool.
My favorite stitch is the French knot. Why? Because it’s fun!
i love the lazy daisy stitch. Those little flowers are so cute.
I love stem stitch. I find it a therapeutic stitch rather like hand quilting. It calms me and its very versatile. I use it all the time.
My favourite stitch is the herringbone – I just like the rhythm of it and the way it fills in a space and can be embellished so many ways. (although satin stitch is a close second….)
Hi Mary it’s a bit tough to only pick one stitch but I guess I would have to say the french knot…thanks for having this wonderful giveaway!
I love the texture
I would love to win this peacock kit and use it in the middle of a quilt I am making from old embroidered dresser scarves and pillow cases. My favorite embroidery stitch now it the feather stitch, I find I can use it in many ways both as outline and center designs and I love all different ways and styles of this stitch. Plus how it works when you add stitches to it.
I love the split stitch. It covers curves welland holds up to a lot of love.
I have just started doing embroidery again after many years of doing counted work. The project I am working on now involves a LOT of backstitch. I learned about whipped backstitch from your posts and I am in love. No matter how bad I think my backstitch looks, I can almost always make it look MUCH better by whipping it. Thanks Mary!
I like all kinds of stitchery and probably my favorite stitch is the chain stitch. I taught myself to do a bullion stitch and used it for petals on flowers. I enjoy using beads on my stitchery. I use the blanket stitch a lot also.
Betty Bondeson
Oh I’m a boring old cross stitch girl. I really need to branch out more!
I LOVE peacocks… and I have been saying for about three years now, that I am will stitch a peacock some day. So Yay for this giveaway!
My favorite stitch is the bullion stitch, especially when I can teach someone how to do it when they think they can’t. And how excited they get when they’ve made one!
i like so many stitches it’s hard to name one but I think, because it can do so much, I’ll call chain stitch my favorite. Use it plain, as a flower, as a leaf, as a fill stitch, wrap it or whip it- the possibilities are almost endless. I love using it.
Have embroidered for years, but recently have been expanding repertoire of stitches beyond basics. I guess at this time split stitch would be my favorite. New stitch to me. Great filler.
Mary my all time favourite stitch is ta da, Stem Stitch!
Not only is it suitable for beginners but advanced embroiders as well. You can use it to outline a design, infill a stem or a flower, create beautiful monograms.
Move your thread and you change the shape. Use two threads and you change the the width and used with other stitches it can create new and interesting patterns.
My favourite stitch, unbeatable!
Padded satin stitch with visible outline in marginally contrasting color.
I love the bullion knot because u can make it as long as you need to create a flowers. I love that this creates dimension and fun.
My favorite stitch is the Palestrina stitch. I like the name, I love the texture, it just looks so very lovely to me. And I never even knew it existed until you shared it with us, Mary! Every time I use the Palestrina stitch, I feel like I am accomplishing something of note. Weird feeling for a simple embroidery stitch, but, there it is.
My most used stitch is back stitch- love the ease, speed, and bold outline. My favorite stitch looks wise is chain stitch or padded satin stitch, and I LOVE clustered French knots.
Hi Mary,
My all time favourite is the chain stitch. It’s one of the first few embroidery stitches I learnt when I was 7. Back then it always makes me feel so happy & proud when my chain stitches comes out well and I get A+ with praises from my teacher. Now in my fifties, whenever I use the chain stitches it never fails to bring back wonderful memories of my early embroidery days 50-odd years ago. Needless to say the versatility of the chain stitch too!
Mary, I really enjoy the blanket stitch. Close together and stitched on both edges of a monogram it’s very effective. You can stitch it around applique…any applique. Wool applique is enhanced with blanket stitch especially done in black. Match the color of the wool with your thread and you have a softer maybe classier look. Cotton applique or broderie perce can also be enhanced with black for effect or color coordinated thread. Or then you can always edge a blanket. My Great Aunt taught me this stitch when I was 6 years old and I still find it effective and interesting at 68. There are so many ways that you can adjust this stitch that I never grow tired of using it. I had to give this a great deal of thought as I love embroidery and my old copy of Stitches A to Z helps me make sure to have variety in my work.
I would love to win this peacock kit! My favorite stitch is the drizzle stitch because I like the dimension it can give.
My all time favorite stitch is the French knot. They are fun to make and can be used in many different ways.
I love the Bullion Stitch because it is very versatile. It can be used to make flowers, leaves, bees, butterflies, etc. It’s length can be varied. I love it. Thanks for your wonderful website and this lovely giveaway.
My favorite embroidery stitch is the woven wheel or circle. When you use perle (silk or cotton) solid, it looks 1way and another way when you use variegated thread. Then, surprise, when you loosely use silk ribbon it turns into the most beautiful woven r
I really enjoy the appearance of multiple french knots so they are definitely a favorite of mine. Thank you!
My favorite embroidery stitch is the bullion knot because I thought I’d never be able to master it but with lots of practice, I finally have the hang of it. Thanks for this opportunity!
my fav stitch is the outline stitch. It makes all the beautiful stitches look better. Very versatile.
Hi Mary, I just love all the information you share will all of your readers. And a give-away! How exciting! My favorite stitch (so far) is the french knot. I know it’s not very exciting but I love the effect. Hope to learn more stitches soon!
It’s so difficult to narrow down to just one. A few years ago I took an embroidery class. One of the new stitches I learned was the padded satin stitch. I love the way this stitch adds depth and texture. It seems very veristile with regards to materials that can be used and how it can be used to enhance any piece. This stich gave me instant gratification which only made me want to learn more stitches!
It would have to be the blanket stitch. You use it to surround and finish, suspend it in air and create all kinds of things when repeated together, and well it was one of the first things I learned to do.
My favourite stitch would have to be the colonial knot, also known as the pioneer knot. I love the way it doesn’t stick up like the french knot often does. I have just finished a stitchery all done in colonial knots and it looks fantastic! Love the peacock stitchery, one of my favourite birds! Love your give aways!
The back stitch because it’s so practical
My favorite stitch is the colonial knot, because I can use them to replace French knots and they do not come apart or sink through the fabric. Whenever I need a refresher on techniques and stitches Needle and Thread is my go to site!
Thank you Mary, for your dedication, expertise, and willingness to share everything embroidery with us!
I love love love the chain stitch. It’s beauty and versatility draw me in every time.
I love the colours in the peacock, and have been looking for a design to explore more stitches.
My current favorite stitch is chain stitch due to it versatility. Can be used as a border or filling.
My favorite embroidery stitch is the chain stitch, because off it’s versatility. It makes a nice line with thread, but can also be used detached as a lazy daisy. With silk ribbon, there are many variations of the detached stitch. It can be used alone or as the basis for many flowers.
What’s your all-time favorite embroidery stitch, and why?
I can’t promise it won’t change, but right now it’s one called Sprat’s Head in the A-Z of Embroidery Stitches book. It makes a nice little triangle, perfect for the spears I’m embroidering on a tunic.
I love rice stitch because it makes such great texture in a large area. Thanks for doing this giveaway!
I like the chain stitch because there are so many variations!
So many stitches. I think my favourite stitch is the one I’ve just mastered. There’s nothing quite like getting a stitch consistently right for the first time.
Other than that it depends on what I’m doing.
Would love to win the peacock. It’s beautiful.
My favorite stitch is the bullion stitch. I haven’t mastered it yet but I’m amazed by everything you can do with a bullion stitch
My all-time favourite stitch is the stem stitch.
It is very versatile, can be used as a filler, is more dimensional than say
the backstitch and a bit more forgiving:)
thank you for a great giveaway
Thanks for the great give-away!
I love chain stitch! It’s the first stitch I learned to do and it is so versatile!
-Heather
I would say of my very limited time embroidering, I like the French knot because I can put “roses” anywhere!
my favorite stitch is buttonhole stitch its really really easy and i think is beautiful
My favorite stitch is the satin stitch because you can fill up any shape with it. I started doing embroidery when I was 10. I have been doing mostly cross stitch lately so if I win this kit it would be a most welcome challenge. Thank you for the giveaway.
Scrolled thru those below & surprised my favorite Double Cast-on Buttonhole stitch not mentioned. I’ve had some fibers set aside in peacock colors for ages: I think this pre-printed fabric peacock design might get such a long range goal done! Chris in SF, Unafraid of Brazilian dimensional stitches
Favorite stitch I would say is the French Knot. Years ago I did a lot of candlewicking patterns and got good at doing it so I really liked the stitch and I want to do the tree that Mary posted several weeks ago..
My favorite stitch is the cast on stitch. Love to make flowers using it.
I’m a beginning embroider and I think that the satin stitch is the best stitch for me. It is so great looking when I can get it right and can really make or break a project.
My favourite stitch is the French Knot. I know that might sound not to out of the ordinary, but first off, it took me forever to master that stitch, and secondly every single time I see French Knots in a finished project, I am mesmerized.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to win such an amazing kit.
I love split stitch because it is the first one I learned to do.
I like the Colonial Knot because it saved me from French knots that were often uneven in size, crocked, or went through the background fabric.
I would love to tackle the colours in this beautiful peacock…I have never done one….and my favourite stitch is Coral because I can get into a lovely rhythmn when stitching it and work and creativity flows…
I would love to work on the peacock embroidery piece. It looks both fun and challenging.
My favorite stitch is the French knot (isn’t everybody’s favorite stitch the French knot?). Here’s why, not only is there texture and form to the French knot, but my grandmother taught me to embroider when I was six years old. She had a very delicate hand with the thread and she was also precise. Little did I know it then but I had to earn the French knot through diligence in perfecting my simple stitches. When she showed me the French knot I thought I’d found the pot of gold. That was over sixty years ago and, although I am much more heavy handed than Grandma was, I think about her every time I pick up a hoop.
Thank you for your wonderful articles and this opportunity,
Deborah Palladino
dpalladino@mac.com
Love give aways. So hard to pick a favorite stitch. I love stem stitch as it is so versitile but I also love cross stitch. Thank you for the chance to enter.
The feather stitch. Not everyone’s favorite, but I love it’s airy look.—Pat B. from Portage, MI
The chain stitch! I also love a good french knot. 🙂
I enjoy the bouillion stitch It adds texture and shape to numerious things The silky thread really makes this stitch pretty.
I love the French Knot! It adds texture and interest standing alone, clustered together or added to other stitches. It enhances any project and is delightful to master. I remember how tickled I was when I did my very first French Knot when I learned to embroider when I was 12 years old. My Mom & Great Grandmother were so proud!
I love Peacocks. I am retired and have had to cut down on my stash spending. Please consider me as a recipient for this wonderful kit.
I love the feather stitch. I love using it in crazy quilting. I love using it to stitch plant life. And I love using it on wool applique.
I love Peacocks. I would love to work on this beautiful kit. I am retired and stitch mostly cross stitch, but I would have to say that I have two favorite stitches, Bargello and spider/whipped spider. they are just so much fun to do.
What a nice giveaway! To answer your question- not easy to choose just one! However, I love the French knot because It gives work a really nice texture.
What a beautiful peacock! I think my favorite stitch is the french knot it gives an embroidery lots of texture.
Hmmm… I would have to say favorite is French knots – the effects can be amazing for fills
Long and short stitch for sure! It is so satisfying watching dimension and details come to life with minor color changes using just one stitch. I always loved coloring with pencils when I was a kid, and this is how I color now!
Thank you Mary!! I love your site and your teaching style. My favorite stitch is Stem stitch because it’s one of the few i know how to do. I’m still working on the hummingbird project and there is a lot of stem stitch! I like the way it looks.It has movement and flow and rhythm! 🙂
Absolutely love peacocks!
My favorite stitch is a combo….
the griffin stitch is alot of fun for fill work!
Honestly, it is very hard to pick my all time favorite embroidery stitch. For me it is a three way tie between the Chinese stitch, the Cretan stitch, and the maiden hair stitch. I love these three stitches because they give an intense emotion and personality the piece you embroider. They are very unique, whimsical, almost fantasy look and feel that I absolutely adore.
My favorite stitch is the good ‘ole backstitch. It’s small and plain, yet mighty!
My favorite stitch is the split stitch because it is very forgiving. It was the first stitch I used in an ambitious (for me) project and to my delight it actually looked pretty good!
My favoritest stitch is Herringbone … I love all the variations including interlacements. Great fun!
🙂 Linda
PS My Mom raised peacocks when I was a kid and I can’t resist a peacock pattern. 🙂
French knot, so satisfying to make.
My favorite stitch is the stem stitch. I love the texture and the fact that it can be used to outline, fill spaces, shade, etc. It’s just a great stitch!
I love doing a blanket stitch because it is so easy and doesn’t require much attention or effort. It is a good stitch to do while you are watching television, waiting at the doctor’s office, or while riding on a trip.
Hi – You have over 600 replies so far – obviously everyone loves the peacock! Me too….
My favourite stitch currently is the Romanian Stitch – so simple, and so clever! I am using it on my current project from “Crewel Intentions”.
My favorite stitch ever has to be the Feench knot, they are so versatile and gorgeous!
My favorite embroidery stitch is the braided chain stitch. I love the peacock pattern and I hope that I have the opportunity to work on one of these kits. Thanks for hosting this giveaway, Brittney- Little Rock AR.
My favorite stitch is the satin stitch, because I can mix up different colored threads when I am creating flower blossoms, landscapes,etc. I can create depth and deepen perspective by mixing the colors. It is fun to get away from solid colored satin stitches!!!!
My favorite has to be french knots. You love them or hate them, require tons of practice (teaching me lots of patience),but nothing looks quite like them on fine fabric. They provide great memories of a dear Auntie fibbing and praising my glorious haphazard girlhood tries. I’m in the gotta love em camp.
Dear Mary,
My favourite stitch is the one done when I can relax for the day. It rarely happens. It is true when I am stressed none of my stitches are any good and that doesn’t make for enjoyable stitching of any kind.
I like many stitches but good old stem stitch is a favourite, especially when the stitches are so well done they look like a laid thread.
Thank you.
Such a beautiful kit. My favorite stitch is the herringbone stitch. I love those little criss-crosses. And it looks so pretty doubled, or with little embellishments.
You have the best embroidery site ever. Your videos are so helpful. Love it!
Wow, I looked at this kit & wondered if I could stitch it as I love peacocks. I’m not sure I have an all time favorite stitch. I love them all. I will pick the Rhodes stitch because it’s easy & versatile since you can make it in many shapes.
My favourite stitch is the French Knot. I find it a very versatile stitch and most relaxing to work.
I would so enjoy stitching the peacock if I should be the lucky winner!
My favorite stitch is the stem stitch because it is so versatile. You can outline and fill in a space.
I think my favorite stitch is the long and short stitch. You can create some really beautiful accents and it is really forgiving. I have made some boo-boos before and you can stitch over it and never see it. When using a variegated thread, the stitches are especially beautiful.
My all time favourite stitch is the Maltese interlacing stitch which is commonly used in embroideries in Kutch , India . It gives me many options for colour combinations and though relatively simple gives a richly worked effect . It is also very forgiving in that it always looks good even if it has not been marked out on the fabric first . I usually just wing it, keeping a visual sense of top and bottom lines . It works up fast too . Great for impatient types like me
I just love peacocks!
French knots are my current favorite stitch.
I am recently retired & I am now finding that I have time for stitching by hand! I am working on improving my padded satin stitch & bullion stitch. I used to do a lot of smocking & crazy quilting, way back when my children were babies. It’s good to be getting back into stitching, even having to learn to compensate for nerve damage in my left hand is not going to stop me!
Thank you for you wonderful, caring instructions!
Teresa B in IL
Thank you for this opportunity! I love the raised chain band, I use it for everything that needs a little extra texture and as an alternative to the outline stitch.
Stem stitch is the first one i learned, and still one I use all the time. I guess it’s my default outline stitch. Part of the reason I would love to win this kit is because it would force me to broaden my horizons. Then I might find a new favorite stitch!
I would say that my favorite stich is a padded satin stitch. It took me so long to get it right! My feeling of accomplishment was so satisfying.
I like peacocks and to my surprise when we first moved to our house the farmer next door had them and it was common for them to visit our yard. My favourite stitch is Palestrina Knot stitch because it can be used in many ways, with arms, in a line, as an individual stitch and as a finishing for the edge of pieces of work to mention a few.
buttonhole –because –edging as well as fans circles and all the other combos
I love the bullion stitch! It is so much fun to make roses from this stitch, and it isn’t that hard to master. Whenever people see this stitch they are amazed at how pretty the flowers are and think they are so hard to do. Plus it is a stitch that begs to be touched because of the texture.
I have to say when I saw this kit on Friday, I started to salivate! Its beautiful!
My favorite stitch is the button hole stitch. When I was in high school, I embroidered a tablecloth that had bouquets of violets and this awesome pink ribbon running the length of the tablecloth. The stitch for the pink ribbon was the buttonhole. The stitch was so relaxing to do, I loved how the thread would glide into its place next to the previous stitch, the raise portion just oh magnificent! I loved stopping to run my finger along the stitch and feel the texture. I saved the ribbon for last as it was the stitch I didn’t know at the time. I savored every movement that I made with my needle and I cried when I finished the last stitch. I still have this tablecloth, only used a few times as I never have had a table it would fit. But I bring it out to admire and to show others as it is so beautiful, I still cant believe I did the work and the joy of said work!
My all time favorite stitch is the stem stitch. I have used it for skinny stems, for fat stems, for the flowers at the end of the stems, and for most other things. One thing I’ve never used it for is to outline an area I plan to cover with straight stitches like a berry. I think I will start using it for berries now.
beautiful kit!
My favorite stitch is long & short stitch because it creates the most beautiful pieces ever.
My altime favorite stitch is the montenegrin stitch. It took me a while to figure it out but once I did I really did enjoy it. I would love to do the peacock project. I have enoyed this web site quite a bit – seems I’m always headed this way when I need some inspiration.
I have so many favorite stitches.. But if I have to choice one it would be the blanket stitch.. It has so many ways to be used.
The kit is awesome. I have my thread in a peacock box in my sewing room, I would love to have this hanging on my wall.. Thank you for the great giveawat
My all time favourite stitch is stem stitch mostly because it is so versatile, reasonably easy to do and it looks good! I keep thinking I will use another stitch but I invariably end up taking it out and going back to stem stitch. This is a stunning kit – it really leaps out of the computer begging to be stitched!
Love the peacock!
My favorite stitch has to be the hem stitch. I love pulled stitches. I also enjoy the bullion stitch. Pulled and drawn work feeds my soul.
My favorite stitch is the blanket stitch. It is a great all around stitch and I use it for more than embroidery. I love this very versatile stitch. I have used it to make flower outlines. It is rewarding to see when I can get my stitches all the same size, makes for beautiful work.
Hi Mary!
I am new to your blog….just signed up about a week or so ago…and am LOVING IT!
Thank you for all your knowledgable and informative posts. I am learning so much.
And now I get a chance to win a prize! This is awesome! Well, my favourite stitch is the “stem” stitch. It may be a boring staple stitch but it really does make lettering pop and look just gorgeous. Sometimes the reliable “workhorses”, are the stitches that shine!
Thanks again!
Rose Ruffolo