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Plush stitch icon
Plush stitch

  • Velvet stitch
  • Raised stitch
Plush stitch main image

This canvaswork stitch consists of a tent stitch followed by a loop on the surface of the canvas which is anchored by a gobelin stitch.  The loops can either be cut to form a piled surface or left as loops.

Plush stitch certainly dates to the late 19th century as it features in Caulfeild and Saward’s 1882 Encyclopedia of needlework.  In this period plush stitches were used as part of Berlin wool work where they were often used to portray large flowers or animals, shaded in different colours and then trimmed to reflect the shape of the motif.

add_circleMy Stitches
Looped Piled Embellishment Filling Shading Canvaswork Rug-making Turkey rug knot Short pile stitch Short pile stitch (variation 1) Short pile stitch (variation 2) Single knotted stitch Velvet stitch Surrey stitch

In honour of Donna Pence
for her service to the
Embroiderers’ Guild of America
Mid-Atlantic Region

Method

This stitch can also be worked without a securing tent stitch in which case it is held by pasting ticking to the reverse of the work before removing the knitting needles.
If pasting the stitch, multiple needles should remain in place until the whole area is worked; by using tent stitch you will only need to use two knitting needles to complete the area.

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1
Plush stitch method stage 1 illustration
Plush stitch method stage 1 photograph
1

Start at the base of the design with a single tent stitch.

2
Plush stitch method stage 2 illustration
Plush stitch method stage 2 photograph
2

Bring the needle up where the tent stitch started.

3
Plush stitch method stage 3 illustration
Plush stitch method stage 3 photograph
3

Lay a size 4 knitting needle over the tent stitch and make a straight stitch above, taking the thread down over the knitting needle and two threads of the canvas.

4
Plush stitch method stage 4 illustration
Plush stitch method stage 4 photograph
4

Make another tent stitch adjacent to the first.

5
Plush stitch method stage 5 illustration
Plush stitch method stage 5 photograph
5

Repeat the sequence to complete the row.

6
Plush stitch method stage 6 illustration
Plush stitch method stage 6 photograph
6

The next row is worked directly above and the knitting needle is left in the lowest row until the row above is completed, this prevents any surface wool being dragged to the back.

7
Plush stitch method stage 7 illustration
Plush stitch method stage 7 photograph
7

Remove the knitting needle from the first row to commence the next row.

8
Plush stitch method stage 8 illustration
Plush stitch method stage 8 photograph
8

Cut and comb the loops once the stitching is complete.

9
Plush stitch method stage 9 photograph
9

Plush stitch

Structure of stitch

Looped Piled

Common uses

Embellishment Filling Shading

Embroidery Techniques

Canvaswork Rug-making

Variant Stitches

Turkey rug knot Short pile stitch Short pile stitch (variation 1) Short pile stitch (variation 2) Single knotted stitch Velvet stitch Surrey stitch

Related Stitches

Turkey rug knot Short pile stitch Short pile stitch (variation 2) Short pile stitch (variation 1) Single knotted stitch Velvet stitch Surrey stitch

Identifying Plush stitch

This piled stitch can be identified by the parallel rows of either loops or cut pile.  Depending on the gauge of the canvas and the thickness of the thread, the canvas may be visible between the rows.

References

  • S. F. A. Caulfeild, Blanche C. Saward, The Dictionary of Needlework (1882) , p.31-2