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Crossed stitches · Intermediate

Herringbone stitch

Slanted stitches zigzag along a horizontal row and cross near their ends. Each new row nests one canvas thread below the last.

Herringbone stitch: the finished stitch on canvas, 30 stitches in five horizontal rows one canvas thread apart, alternating in two colors; each row zigzags, its stitches crossing near their ends
The finished stitch on canvas. Every stitch runs from one hole to another; the two colors are only there to tell the stitches apart. In the steps, new stitches are red, and the numbers give the order: up at an odd number, down at the next even one.

How to work it

  1. The first stitch

    Herringbone stitch, step 1: the first stitch on the canvas. Numerals 1 and 2 mark its ends, in working order. It slants down to the right.

    Come up at the top left corner of the area. Go down two canvas threads to the right and two down.

  2. Step back one thread

    Herringbone stitch, step 2: two stitches on the canvas, the one this step adds in red. Numerals 3 and 4 mark its ends, in working order. It slants up to the right, over the first.

    Come up one hole to the left of where the needle went down. Go down two threads to the right and two up, in the top row of holes.

  3. Zigzag to the end of the row

    Herringbone stitch, step 3: six stitches on the canvas, the four this step adds in red. Numerals 5 to 8 mark the ends of the first two new stitches, in working order. Each stitch lies over the one before.

    Come up one hole to the left again and stitch down to the right as before. Continue to the right edge, down and up alternately, always coming up one hole to the left of where the needle last went down. Every row is worked from the left, so end the thread at the right edge: weave it back and forth under the short stitches on the back and trim it.

  4. The second row, one thread lower

    Herringbone stitch, step 4: twelve stitches on the canvas, the six this step adds in red. The second row overlaps the lower ends of the first.

    Begin again at the left edge, one hole straight below the start of the first row, and work across as before. Away from the side edges, this row's upper holes lie under the stitches of the row above: slide them aside with a fingernail or a second needle to find each hole.

  5. Fill the area from the top down

    Herringbone stitch, step 5: 30 stitches on the canvas, the 18 this step adds in red. Five rows lie one canvas thread apart.

    Add rows in the same way until the area is full, each begun at the left edge one canvas thread below the last.

At a glance

Used for
clothing; siding and boards on buildings; backgrounds; borders
Coverage
Full; sawtooth top and bottom edges
Direction
Slanted both ways
Stitch length
Over 2 intersections

Herringbone is one movement repeated: a slanted stitch forward, then one canvas thread back behind the canvas. A single row is a band of overlapping zigzags with gaps between its points. The next row closes them, lying over the lower ends of the row above and tucking its own upper ends under it.

The rows look like herringbone tweed, so the stitch suits a coat or a jacket in a design. Its horizontal bands suit siding and boards on a building; alternate two shades row by row to pick out each band. One row alone makes a border, and many rows a background of small, even zigzags.

Very little thread goes on the back, two broken lines of short horizontal stitches to a row: too little to cover a tail as you stitch.

Tips

  • Begin each row with an away knot. When the row is done, cut off the knot and weave in its tail like the working end.
  • Where a whole stitch does not fit at the end of a row, work a compensating stitch, shorter and at the same slant. For a straight top or bottom edge, work a tent stitch over each bare intersection between the points.

When it goes wrong

The rows look woven like a basket, not like zigzag bands.
A row was worked back from right to left. Take it out and work it from the left. Rows worked both ways alternately are another stitch, called herringbone gone wrong.
Bare canvas shows between the rows.
A row was skipped: the new row began two canvas threads below the last. Take it out and begin it one thread higher: a row starts in every hole down the left edge.

Variations

  • Herringbone over four intersections. The same zigzag at twice the size: each stitch crosses four intersections and the needle comes up two canvas threads back.
  • Herringbone over three. A single row as a border: every stitch covers three intersections, the needle comes up two threads back, as it does over four, and a compensating stitch fills each end.

Questions

Is this the herringbone stitch of hand embroidery?
Yes, in its counted form. Surface embroidery works it as a single line of spaced stitches between two drawn lines, for a border or to hold one fabric to another.
How is herringbone stitch different from woven stitch?
In woven stitch a whole row leans one way and the next row the other. In herringbone both slants alternate along every row and cross.

Where to go next

Stitches

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