A buttonhole stitch face-off – it’s a great way to embroider a wide line that is similar to ladder stitch but works up a lot faster. Let me show you what I mean:

Working between two parallel lines (and actually, they don’t have to be straight – they can be wavy, and they don’t even have to be parallel…) work buttonhole stitch between the two lines, so that the “spoke” of the stitch spans the distance between the two lines. On the fabric above, I’m working the stitch vertically towards me (I’m right handed).

Turn your work 90 degrees, and working towards you again, work another row of buttonhole stitch between the spokes of the first row, with the twisted edge covering the tips of the spokes on the first row.

If you play with the spacing of your buttonhole stitches, you can get different effects, from a solid filled line (working the buttonhole stitches close together, with just enough room to fit the second row of stitches between the spokes of the first row), to a uniform line of equally spaced spokes, to a line made of double spokes fitting close together.

If you take a look at the ladder stitch, you’ll see the similarities. But the facing buttonhole stitch here is faster to work (fewer steps), and the edge looks like a nice twisted rope instead of a braid.

So there’s a little tip for when you’re looking to stitch a wider line on your needlework. It’s a great way to stitch a border, and you can even fill a whole design this way, as is done in different folk embroidery techniques.

Here’s hoping you find some good use for a buttonhole face-off! Any suggestions? Leave a comment and inspire the rest of us!