For the third square in my pulled work embroidery sampler, I really wanted to try out the ring-backed stitch (or ring backstitch), as I had seen it worked in some historical pieces. The ring-backed stitch is basically a backstitch that is worked in a wavy line and then worked back on itself to form a row of rings.
The ring-backed stitch is worked in backstitch, left then right in wavy lines. The black dot is where the thread comes to the front of the fabric. The solid lines represent the thread at the front and the dotted lines the thread on the reverse side. The black lines represent the first part of the row (right to left) and the red lines represent the second part of the row (left to right). The grid represents the thread count of the fabric.
On my sampler I made my “rings” slightly more oval by crossing four threads of the fabric instead of three on the vertical and horizontal sides of each ring.
As before, when you are ready to begin a new row take your embroidery thread from the top of the stitch in one row to the bottom of the stitch in the next (that is, take the longest path between the two stitches), which helps to create an even tension (or pull) on each of the stitches. My finished square looks like this:
This whole square is done with ring-backed stitch, which is worked from side to side.
Because this stitch takes up a larger area, I decided to do the entire square with it. It helps give a better idea of what it looks like once several rows are done together. I really love the way this stitch turned out! It is really pretty and easy to count once you get the hang of it.
Part Four will be coming soon!
Related Posts
Pulled Work Embroidery Sampler: Part One
Making a Pair of Lawn Ruffles – with whitework
Sources and Relevant Links
Many different Pulled stitches – by Lynxlace
Tea in a Teacup 
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