I've always wondered why masters of needlepoint like Tony Minieri (and he's not the only one) insist that split stitch be done by coming UP through the previous stitch instead of going down into it. Now Mary Corbet has explained why: Coming up through the previous stitch leaves less thread on the back side than going down into the previous stitch and uses less thread. Going down is called Split Back Stitch, which I didn't know either. Mary's explanation is in the "Split Stitch As a Filling" section of this article.
UPDATE: Mary continues her examination of coming up into a split stitch versus going down into one with this fascinating article. Short summary: coming up into the stitch from the back makes the stitches more puffy and fuller. Going down into the stitch from the front makes them smoother and fuller.
Mary also points out that if you use an odd number of plies instead of an even number, you are less likely to have gaps where the needle coming up or down pushes the thread plies aside to reveal the ground fabric.
By the way, if you aren't familiar with split stitch or split back stitch, Mary explains split stitch here.
She doesn't have a tutorial for split back stitch but the needle goes down into the previous stitch from the front instead of coming up into the previous stitch from the back side.
Written by Jane/Chilly HollowBlogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright August 29, 2025 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.
