1. Come up through the fabric and make one single stitch along your line.
2. Bring the needle up one stitch-length ahead, then go back down into the end of the previous stitch. That backward move is the whole stitch.
3. Repeat down the line, keeping the stitches roughly even. No ruler required.
4. To whip it: come up at the start, slide the needle under each stitch (over the fabric, not through it) and pull, always in the same direction.
5. Tie off on the back with a double knot and trim.

Brenna’s tipWhipping in the same color hides the tiny gaps between stitches, so the line reads as one smooth rope. That is why Brenna uses it on stems.

1. Make one regular back stitch.
2. Bring the needle up a stitch-length ahead, then go down into the middle of the previous stitch, splitting the strands.
3. With three strands it splits one-and-two rather than evenly. That is fine. The look is the same.
4. Use small stitches on curves and slightly longer ones on straight runs.
5. Two ways work: down into the stitch (Brenna’s way, a little cleaner) or up through it. Pick whichever feels natural.

Brenna’s tipMessy lettering usually means you are not pulling snug enough, or you have too many strands. Check the count in your guide, then try one fewer.

1. Start with a regular back stitch along the letter line.
2. Keep going down into the center of the previous stitch, making the stitches smaller on curves.
3. If a stitch lands off the line, do not rip it out. On the next stitch, catch it with the needle and pull it over onto the line.
4. At the end of a letter, go back over the top and into the center stitch so the tip has the split look too.
5. Dot the i with a French knot wrapped once. Cross the t last.

Brenna’s tipStitch your text after everything else. It is easier to keep neat when the rest of the design is already in place.

1. Come up, then go back down in the same hole (or right beside it), leaving a big loose loop.
2. Come up about half a stitch ahead, inside the loop, and pull gently until the loop hugs the thread.
3. Go back down into that same hole, leave another loop, and repeat.
4. To turn a corner, use each loop to steer the direction. Small stitches give tight curves.
5. On the last loop, take a tiny anchor stitch over the top to hold it, just like a lazy daisy.

Brenna’s tipPull too hard and the loop collapses into a straight line. You are looking for a loop, not a knot. Keep the thread untwisted as you go.

1. Start at one edge and lay stitches side by side, as close together as you can, so the thread sits flat.
2. Work in whichever direction gives you the most control. Brenna goes top to bottom.
3. If a gap shows, drag a single stitch up into it. Nobody will ever know.
4. On a long shape, do not pull tight or the fabric will pucker.
5. For a gradient: start the stitches at the same spot but end them at random lengths, then bring the next color up through the middle of the first so the two interweave.

Brenna’s tipHold the hoop up to a window to spot fabric peeking through, then fill it. And remember, no two sunsets are the same. Do not chase perfect.

1. Start at the edge of the shape: a long stitch, then a short one, then long again.
2. Keep the lengths varied and a little random. There is no formula.
3. Fill the space row by row. Tiny stitches for detail, bigger ones for speed.
4. If you are blending two colors, leave gaps about one stitch wide for the second color to slot into.
5. On a hillside, angle the stitches a little. Grass does not all grow the same way.

Brenna’s tipKeep the fabric drum-tight. Loose fabric is what causes little divots across a filled area.

1. Make one straight stitch.
2. Come up close by and lay the next stitch over it at a slightly different angle.
3. Keep layering, changing the angle each time, until the area is covered.
4. To save thread, come up near where you just went down instead of crossing the back of the hoop.
5. Fill any bare spots with one more stitch.

Brenna’s tipThis is the stitch Brenna reaches for when she wants a break from anything exact. It is the relaxing fill.

1. Stitch a row of back stitches, all about the same length.
2. On the next row, start half a stitch in, so each stitch lands under the join of the two above it.
3. Alternate rows: a full-length row, then an offset row.
4. If a gap shows at the end of a row, fill it with a short stitch.
5. Wandering? Draw a couple of guide lines with your heat-erasable pen first.

Brenna’s tipFewer strands and smaller stitches keep the brick pattern readable in a small space.

1. Lay the vertical “posts”: long straight stitches, evenly spaced, and always an odd number (5, 7 or 9). Tie off.
2. With the weaving color, come up at the top corner and weave over, under, over across the posts. Do not pull tight.
3. On the next row do the opposite: under, over, under.
4. Push each row up snug against the one before it.
5. Keep going to the bottom, then tie off on the back.

Brenna’s tipPull a row too tight and the posts bow inward. If it happens, add a tiny straightening stitch on the edge and carry on. And it must be an odd number of posts, or the weave will not alternate.

1. Come up through the fabric and pull the thread all the way through.
2. Hold the thread taut and wrap it around the needle once or twice. Your guide says how many wraps.
3. Put the needle back in right next to where you came up, but not in the same hole.
4. Keep the thread pulled tight, push the needle through, then let go.
5. To fill an area, place the next knot right beside the last. More wraps and more strands make fatter knots.

Brenna’s tipSpace the knots slightly apart if you want each one defined. Pack them tight for a bumpy, textured fill.

1. Thread tangling while you wrap? Shorten the working end by pulling more thread through the needle.
2. Knot pulling straight through? You went back into the same hole. Move over one thread.
3. A kink in the thread? Cut it off and rethread. It will run smoother.
4. To remove a knot, slide your scissors under it, snip the top, then scrape the back with a fingernail.
5. Knots squishing into each other? Give them a little more room next time.

Brenna’s tipBrenna hated this stitch until she called her grandma for help. Now it is one of her favorites. Go slow and you will get it.

1. Come up at the flower center and go back down in the same hole, leaving a loop.
2. Come up at the tip of the petal, inside the loop.
3. Pull gently until the loop is the petal shape you want. Too tight and it turns into a straight line.
4. Make a tiny anchor stitch over the loop at the very tip.
5. Repeat around the circle, then finish with a French knot in the middle.

Brenna’s tipAnchor at the very top of the petal. If you anchor off to one side, the whole petal leans that way.

1. Come up at the tip of the leaf and make one stitch down the center line, about a third of the way.
2. Come up just to the right of the tip, cross over the center, and go down on the left.
3. Come up on the left, cross over, and go down on the right.
4. Keep alternating, hugging the previous stitch, until the leaf is filled.
5. Optional: back stitch around the outline for extra definition.

Brenna’s tipReal leaves are not symmetrical. If one side runs out of room first, just finish the other side.

1. Stitch an odd number of spokes from the edge into the center. Five is easiest, seven for more detail. It must be odd or it will not weave.
2. Come up right next to the center, in an empty space between spokes.
3. Weave under one spoke, over the next, around and around, one spoke at a time.
4. Snug each pass gently. Do not weave the whole circle and then yank.
5. When the circle is full, tuck the thread down at the edge and tie off. If there is space left, fake the last bit with a few loose stitches around the rim.

Brenna’s tipStart the spokes on the outside so your knot is not in the middle where the needle keeps landing. Everything else sits above the fabric, so this stitch is easy to undo if you change your mind.

1. Make a small stitch but do not pull it tight. Leave a loop standing up off the fabric.
2. Make the next one right beside it with the same size loop.
3. Fill the shape, overlapping or bunching the loops to taste.
4. Loops can face any direction, so do not worry about lining them up.
5. If a loop falls flat, stitch a new one right over it.

Brenna’s tipYour hands are trained to pull firm by now. Hold the back of the fabric so you can feel when a loop is about to disappear.

1. Start at the top of the shape. Take a stitch but leave a loop hanging instead of pulling through.
2. Anchor it with a tiny back stitch right over the top of the loop.
3. Loop, anchor, loop, anchor across the row.
4. Work the rows from the bottom up, overlapping so no fabric shows between them.
5. Leave the loops for a soft look, or trim straight across with sharp scissors and fluff. Painter’s tape lifts the fuzz off the fabric.

Brenna’s tipStitch whatever sits underneath first, then trim. Trim a little at a time; you cannot add it back.

1. Thread the needle with the stem color, not the flower color. Wrap the flower color around two fingers the number of times your guide says, then cut.
2. Squish the bundle flat and lay it where the flower sits.
3. Take two small stitches over the middle to anchor it.
4. Fold the bundle upward and stitch across the base a few times. The top stitch needs to sit high enough that the tassel does not splay out.
5. Trim the ends even (or leave the loops rounded) and fluff.

Brenna’s tipDo not pull the anchor stitches tight or you get a pinched waist. Even, gentle stitches make the prettiest flower.

1. Wrap thread around two fingers (three for a big pom) until it is nice and thick, then cut.
2. Tie a separate piece of thread tightly around the middle with a double knot.
3. Snip the loops on both sides and trim it into a ball.
4. Squish it into shape. For two colors, wrap both colors together.
5. Secure it to the fabric with a few stitches through the middle in a matching color.

Brenna’s tipTrim over a bowl. This one makes confetti.

1. Use all six strands and give yourself extra length. There is no knot on this one.
2. Come up from the back but stop halfway, leaving a long tail underneath.
3. Unthread the needle, rethread the other end, and bring it up on the opposite side of the stems.
4. Tie the two ends in a double knot on the front, then tie a bow like a shoelace.
5. Trim the loops and tails to size. If the bow bothers you standing up, tack it down with a single strand.

Brenna’s tipFirm, not tight. Pull too hard and the fabric puckers around the knot.