How to Backstitch

The backstitch is an embroidery stitch worked in plastic canvas projects as decorative stitches, typically on top of a finished design. Backstitches can be worked in yarn or in several strands of embroidery floss for adding lettering, outlining, details and other fine lines.

1. Determine where you want to start backstitching. Bring your needle up from the back of the plastic canvas through the first hole where you want to begin (1).
2. Depending on how long you want the backstitch to be, insert the needle down through the canvas one, two or more holes away from your starting point (2).
3. To work the next backstitch, bring the needle up through the next hole where desired (3) and then take it back into the ending hole of the previous stitch (4). This technique forms a backward stitch, which is where the name "backstitch" comes from.
4. Continue backstitching following the steps above, moving forward on the plastic canvas by bringing the needle up through a hole where desired, and then backstitching into the previous stitch’s ending hole.