Needlepoint guide
Basketweave vs continental stitch
All three tent stitches look the same from the front. The difference is on the back, and in what the stitch does to the canvas.
On this page 6 parts
The short answer
Use basketweave for any area big enough to fit it. Use continental for single lines, outlines, lettering and places too small for basketweave. Use half cross only when thread is short or the piece will be framed and never handled.
Side by side
| Basketweave | Continental | Half cross | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worked in | Diagonal rows | Straight rows | Straight rows |
| Back of the canvas | Woven, like a basket | Long slanted stitches | Short upright stitches |
| Distortion | Least | Can pull the canvas out of square | Can warp the canvas over a large area |
| Wear | Best | Good | Least |
| Thread used | Much more than half cross | Much more than half cross | Least |
| Best for | Backgrounds and filled shapes | Lines, letters, tight spots | Framed pieces, saving thread |
Why basketweave keeps the canvas square
Rows of tent stitch can pull a canvas out of shape. Most stitched canvases end up leaning to the right, and continental worked without a frame can distort the canvas. In basketweave you travel down one diagonal and up the next, with the needle held vertically on the way down and horizontally on the way up. The back builds into a weave that reinforces the canvas, so the piece is the most likely of the three to stay square.
Alternate the rows without fail. Two down rows or two up rows side by side leave a line on the front that blocking will not take out.
How to work each
Diagrams and steps are in the stitch library: basketweave, continental and half cross.
Mixing them
It is normal to use more than one in a piece: continental for a one-stitch outline, basketweave to fill inside it. What you should not do is switch between half cross and the others across a flat area. The back is thinner under half cross, and the surface comes out uneven.
Half cross also sits badly on mono canvas, where its stitches do not always lie as they should. It is at home on Penelope and interlock canvas.
Other choices for backgrounds
Tent stitch is not the only way to fill a background. Decorative stitches such as Nobuko, brick and T stitch fill it with texture instead.