26/1/2020 Burden Stitch – Sarah's Hand Embroidery Tutorials

Burden Stitch allows filling

by a simple a brick-like
couching. The laid threads
are couched down using
vertical straight stitches
and can make interesting
displays if colors are
combined well. When
used for fillings, this stitch
can add a wonderful
texture to the surface of
the fabric.

This stitch also comes

with an interesting
history. The Burden Stitch
is named after Elizabeth
(Bessie) Burden, who was
known to be fine at
needlework during the
late 19th century. She
was born in Oxford and
taught at the Royal School
of Needlework, an
institute that was started
to revive the art of
needlework. Bessie taught
students to work on
pieces designed by
William Morris, her
husband, and other
designers. She employed
a variety of ‘cushion’
stitch from the medieval
period. In the late 19th
century this stitch was
called the ‘Tapestry
Stitch’. She used it to
cover large areas,
especially the flesh tones
of the figurines in the
design. This stitch was
renamed as ‘Burden
Stitch’ by the school in
recognition of Bessie’s
contribution.

www.embroidery.rocksea.org/stitch/couching-family/burden-stitch/ 1/5
26/1/2020 Burden Stitch – Sarah's Hand Embroidery Tutorials

Fig 1: Lay Fig 2:

a Now, come
foundation out in a
of contrasting
horizontal color from
rows of one corner
straight of the
stitches. pattern.
Come out
from just a
little below
the laid
stitch and
make a
straight
stitch to
reach just
below the
next top
row.

Fig 3: Next Fig 4: A

come out finished
from just portion of
above the the Burden
laid thread Stitch will
and take ti look rich
over the like this.
laid thread
of the next
row to take
it in just
below the
third row.
Keep doing
this
alternately
for a brick
formation.

www.embroidery.rocksea.org/stitch/couching-family/burden-stitch/ 2/5
26/1/2020 Burden Stitch – Sarah's Hand Embroidery Tutorials

Tags: Bessie, burden

stitch, couching, Elizabeth
Burden, filling stitch, laid
thread

2 RESPONSES

 Comments 2

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Marcia Tanner

 November 14,
2019 at 12:45 pm
Thank you for
the lovely ideas
Please could you
give me some
more ideas for
filling in large
tree trunks, I
am working on a
large fire screen
in crewel.
There are a lot
of trees and
branches in the
design.Kind
regards, Marcia
Reply


Sarah

November
15, 2019
at 11:31
am
Hi
Marcia.
Thank
you for
writing.
I think,
Burden
Stitch
will be
great
for
large

www.embroidery.rocksea.org/stitch/couching-family/burden-stitch/ 3/5