Fly Stitch

Hand embroidery stitches / Stitch Dictionary

Fly stitch is a simple stitch that you can use for many things, such as in the sample above. In this piece of contemporary embroidery, I worked fly stitch in stranded cotton floss, perle #8 cotton, perle #12 cotton over layers of chiffon and net to produce a watery effect.

This is a more traditional example of fly stitch. In the foliage of this floral motif, I stacked the stitches to create leaves. You start small and work to a larger fly stitch. In this sample, I used a dark green wool, one strand of light green cotton floss and a green metallic machine embroidery thread. I threaded a needle with all three threads and proceeded to work fly stitches close together in leaf-like shapes.

Here, I used fly stitch to represent the leaves of a rose bud. I worked it in cotton perle #5, and the bud itself —which is made up of two bullion knots —is worked in a hand-dyed silk that is about the same thickness as cotton perle #8.

On this sample, I have used the same technique to secure a strip of lace on a crazy quilt project. This time, however, I worked the bullion buds in wool, and the fly stitch is cotton perle #5.

Not only can you use it in foliage and floral motifs, you can also repeat the stitch to create geometric patterns. This is fly stitch worked using wool and overlapping herringbone also worked in a wool thread.

This is a very versatile stitch. In this case, the ties of the fly stitch are not straight stitches, but detached chain stitches. Of course, this means it is no longer fly stitch, but a variation, though it is an attractive variation to explore and play with. In this sample, I used it to secure a braid to a piece of crazy quilting, and I worked itin hand-dyed rayon thread.

How to work Fly Stitch

Bring the thread up through the fabric at the top left of where you want to create the stitch. Hold the thread down with your left thumb and insert the needle to the right and level with where the thread emerged. Make a stitch on a downward angle so that the needle emerges between the two points as illustrated.

With the thread wrapped under the needle, pull it through the fabric. Secure the ‘V’ in position with a small vertical straight stitch.

This is another contemporary interpretation of the stitch. On this sample, I used knitting yarn, novelty yarn (that’s the hairy stuff), stranded cotton floss, perle #5 cotton, and wool.

Here, I used fly stitch for the stems of little floral elements on a patch in a crazy quilted block.

Fly stitch is also known as ‘Y’ stitch, and ‘open-loop’ stitch.

Have you seen my Stitchers Templates?

Create your own designs with Sharon’s easy-to-use stitchers templates. Combine shapes to create hundreds of patterns and designs to embroider. It is the ultimate mix-and-match fun for stitchers of all skill levels. I created them to be as versatile as possible. I include four multi-patterned templates in each set. You will find them easy to use, totally clear to help you position them on your work, and they are nice and compact to fit in your sewing box. Each set comes with an e-book filled with patterns and designs that you can create and use as a jumping-off spot for your own designs. They are available now in our shop here!

Happy stitching!