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Ceylon stitch icon
Ceylon stitch

  • Cross-knit loop stitch
Ceylon stitch main image

​This needlelace stitch consists of a series of chained loops, anchored by a foundation line of stitches.  It resembles a knitted sweater and is therefore a good stitch to sample in wool, but can be just as effective in any thread. A backstitch outline is used in this example, but ceylon stitch could be achieved without a foundation outline by anchoring the row of loops with a tiny stitch.

The earliest evidence of Ceylon stitch is from the Iron Age: impressions made on ceramics from Masbate in the Philippines feature the impression of cloth woven using the same structure as the stitch.  Slightly more recently, use of the stitch itself has been found on textile artefacts from Peru, dated to the early Nazca period (1st to 5th centuries AD).  The name ‘cross-knit loop stitch’ is used by academics for this stitch.

add_circleMy Stitches
Looped Detached Filling Embellishment Stumpwork Needlelace

Ceylon stitch is generously sponsored by Kirsty Young

Method

The example below shows a rectangular shape to fill. In order to fill an irregular shape, you can add or omit the stitches at side edges.

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Ceylon stitch method stage 1 illustration
Ceylon stitch method stage 1 photograph
1

Bring the needle up on the left-hand side of the shape, just below the top foundation outline.

Ceylon stitch method stage 2 illustration
Ceylon stitch method stage 2 photograph
2

Work a row of loops across the shape. Pass the needle under the foundation line as you work each loop.

Ceylon stitch method stage 3 illustration
Ceylon stitch method stage 3 photograph
3

At the end of the first row, take the needle down to the back of the fabric.

Ceylon stitch method stage 4 illustration
Ceylon stitch method stage 4 photograph
4

Bring the needle back up to the front on the left-hand side, just beneath the previous row.

Ceylon stitch method stage 5 illustration
Ceylon stitch method stage 5 photograph
5

Pass the needle behind two threads of the loop above without piercing the fabric. Pull the thread through to form the stitch.

Ceylon stitch method stage 6 illustration
Ceylon stitch method stage 6 photograph
6

Continue working the second row by passing the thread through the loop of previous row.

Ceylon stitch method stage 7 illustration
Ceylon stitch method stage 7 photograph
7

At the end of the row, take the thread through to the back of the fabric.

Ceylon stitch method stage 8 illustration
Ceylon stitch method stage 8 photograph
8

Continue working in this way until the shape is filled. On the last row, take the needle through the foundation outline as you work each stitch.

Ceylon stitch

Structure of stitch

Looped Detached

Common uses

Filling Embellishment

Embroidery Techniques

Stumpwork Needlelace

Related Stitches

Single Brussels stitch

Identifying Ceylon stitch

​Ceylon stitch can be identified by the particular pattern that is created by the rows of loops of the thread that fill a shape to create the appearance of a knitted sweater pattern.

References

  • Mrs Archibald Christie, Samplers and Stitches (1921) , p.33
  • Mary Thomas’s Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches (1934) , p.30
  • Jennifer Campbell, Ann-Marie Bakewell, Guide to Embroidery Stitches (2004)
  • Sarah Whittle, The Needlecraft Stitch Directory (2012)
  • Jan Bay-Petersen, 'Textile impressions on Iron Age pottery in Masbate, Philippines', JSTOR. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/29791770 (Accessed: 12 May 2022)
  • Lila M. O'Neale, 'Archaeological explorations in Peru: part III: Textiles of the Early Nazca period', JSTOR. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/41575616 (Accessed: 12 May 2022)