Stem stitch

Stem stitch is an embroidery stitch in which each stitch is laid slightly beyond the last in a continuous line, giving a smooth, even line used for stems and outlines.

May Morris explains it in Decorative Needlework (1893): one stitch is laid beyond another in a continuous line, which should be smooth and even, with the thread always kept on the same side of the needle. She calls it essentially suited to work done in the hand, and useful for filling stems and putting in outlines.

It was a staple of the Morris & Co. house style. The Ashmolean describes the firm's embroideries as darning with a stem stitch outline, worked in natural dyed silks. The V&A's records agree: its "Vine Leaf" tablecloth, probably designed by May Morris in 1896, is worked in darning, stem and satin stitch, with each central motif outlined in stem stitch, and its "Rose Bush" kit, designed by her around 1890, is worked in stem stitch and darning stitch.

The stitch also appears in the list of stitches that crewelwork uses, and the Ashmolean lists stem among the principal stitches of art embroidery, which it says relied on the simplest and most common stitches.

Sources

1. May Morris, Decorative Needlework (London: Joseph Hughes, 1893), Fig. 7. Internet Archive
2. Tablecloth, 'Vine Leaf', T.426-1993; Panel, Rose Bush embroidery kit, CIRC.301-1960. Victoria and Albert Museum
3. The Many Talents of May Morris (Lynn Hulse). Ashmolean Museum

See also

• Crewelwork
• Couching

Read more

• May Morris: She Ran Morris & Co.'s Embroidery Studio

Last updated October 19, 2026 · Markdown