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TENT STITCH PART 2: BASKETWEAVE STITCH

Unlike continental stitch and half cross stitch, which are done in either horizontal or vertical rows, the basketweave stitch is the tent stitch done in diagonal rows.

There are two advantages to using this stitch. The first is that (except in cases where one color abuts an already stitched color), every stitch allows you to come up in a "clean" (unused) hole and to go down in a "dirty" (already used) hole. This causes less disturbance to stitches that you have already made.

A second advantage is that the basketweave stitch causes less distortion than the continental stitch. This is because with the continental stitch, every row pulls the canvas in the same direction. With basketweave, rows alternate between a vertical pull and a horizontal pull, which tend to even each other out.

The continental stitch is normally diagrammed and stitched by starting in the upper right corner of an area; however, there is no reason why it can't be done by starting in the lower left corner, if you use the correct stitch sequence. This is sometimes recommended for left-handed stitchers if they are not working on a frame, as it is easier to "scoop" stitch.

The easiest way to illustrate basketweave stitch is in a simple square or rectangular shape. Using the more common method of starting in the upper right, the first row would consist of a single stitch, the second row would consist of two stitches, the third row would consist of three stitches, and so on on until you have reached the maximum height of your area.

There are some rules that should always be observed when stitching basketweave. One is that an "up" row must always alternate with a "down" row. If by mistake you stitch two rows, both from the bottom to the top, or from the top to the bottom, it will usually show in your finished work. There are two tricks that will help you avoid this pitfall.

One trick is to never go to the end of a row and finish and cut your working thread. If you put aside your work partway through a row, you will be able to tell by looking at it if you were working an up row or a down row.

Another trick (and one that should be followed for other reasons) is to notice the weave of your canvas. With mono canvas, every other horizontal and vertical intersection will alternate which thread is on top. Another way of putting this is to notice that a thread intersection (where the warp and weft threads go over and under one another) will have first a vertical thread on top, then the next thread intersection will have a horizontal thread on top, and so on. However, when you stitch in diagonal rows, all thread intersections in each diagonal row will have either a horizontal thread on top for the entire row, with the next row having a vertical thread on top, and so on. NOTE: if you are working on interlock canvas, this does not apply as the canvas thread are "interlocked" at each intersection.

When stitching a diagonal row that has a horizontal thread on top, the row should be done from the bottom of the area to the top of the area. When the diagonal row has a vertical row on top, the row should be done from the top of the area to the bottom. If you forget this, there is a saying that needlepointers use to help them remember the correct sequence, "Up the stairs, down the ladder." This refers to the fact that the stairs have flat horizontal treads (for horizontal threads) while ladders are vertical (for vertical threads). If you keep this rule in mind, you can stitch anywhere on your canvas correctly.

Once you have made the initial stitch in the upper right corner (thus completing your first row) it is time to begin the second row. At this point, rather than randomly deciding to stitch the next row in a "down" direction or an "up" direction, you should look at the weave of the canvas intersection (the weave will be the same for the entire row). If you see a horizontal canvas thread on top, you should stitch in an up direction. If you see a vertical canvas thread on top, you should stitch in a down direction.

Canvas weave showing threads that go over and under each other	Arrow pointing at a vertical thread on top (row should be stitched in a down direction)	Arrow pointing at a horizontal thread on top (row should be stitched in an up direction)

If you find that your second row has horizontal threads on top, and should be stitched in an up direction, you would follow this diagram (for purposes of illustration only, the first row is in white and the second row in aqua):

If you find that your second row has vertical threads on top, and should be stitched in a down direction, you would follow this diagram (for purposes of illustration only, the first row is in white and the second row in aqua):

Here is what nine (yes, nine) rows of basketweave would look like (for purposes of illustration only, the "down" rows are shown in white, while the "up" rows are in aqua). If you don't understand why this is nine rows, when the area covers only five threads, try counting the rows, following the sequence up and down diagonally, and you will see that this is really nine rows (the rows each have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 stitches per row).

This is what the back of a section of basketweave looks like (omitted are "traveling" threads which occur at the end of each row):

When ending a thread by weaving it through stitches on the reverse of your canvas, it is important to weave them in only a horizontal or vertical direction. If you weave a thread in a diagonal direction, it will usually show on the top of the canvas.

I have seen it written that the basketweave is a modern or 20th century innovation; however, the book Art of the Embroiderer by Charles de Saint Aubin, originally published in 1770, has a diagram that illustrates the basketweave stitch on canvas.

Diagrams and text copyright 2005 Threadneedle Street