Raised stem stitch is a great way to create thick, textured ribbons, bands, ropes, tree trunks, caterpillars… lots of possibilities with this technique!

There are different ways to go about raised stem stitch – you can really raise it by working it over a cord or rope padding (as is done in Casalguidi embroidery), or you can raise it moderately by working long lines of horizontal stitches, over which you can then work the vertical stitches you’ll see in the tutorial below, and then the stem stitch over those. Or, you can just barely raise it a bit, by working the vertical stitches right on the fabric, as we’ll do here.

In today’s Stitch Play, this is what we are going to create: