Vintage Skills: Hand Embroidery, Back Stitch

The back stitch is a very important basic stitch in embroidery. It outlines beautifully and adds special detail to both simple and complex designs. This stitch can also be used to mend clothing if a seam becomes ripped or loose. The concept of this stitch is to start the stitches just close to the end of a line, but not at the end, and go backwards to make the first stitch.