Learn a stitch - Alternating chained buttonhole stitch

Hi everyone,

The summer vacations have started in this part of the world , and we parents are running helter-skelter to  keep our kids occupied :) Moreover, the heat has become unbearable - the temperature is running close to 40 degrees. It's ice-creams and iced drinks all the way .

Today, being Sunday , DH and the little lady went out to buy roller skates and I had two precious hours for myself. I used those two hours to photograph step by step pics of a stitch I had come across in the arts and designs website. Here is how the stitch looks like,

This stitch is known by the name alternating chained buttonhole.It looks similar to petal stitch , but is stitched in an entirely different way. In fact, many of us would have done a variation of this one sometime or the other. I'll show you the variation towards the end of this tute.

Step 1. Draw a straight line and come up at a point A on the line as shown below.

Step 2: With the thread below the needle, insert the needle through B on the line and come out at C.

Step 3:  Loop around the needle as you would for a chain stitch. See pic below.

 Step 4 :Pull through to form the loop.

Step 5: Go down at D (similar to lazy daisy or detached chain stitch) and come up at E inside the chain. The  point E should be inside the chain, just near point B (see step 2).

Step 6 : Pull through to complete the first chained buttonhole.

Step 7 : Repeat the steps 2 to 6 for the other side.

And there we have it!!!

If you vary the slant of the chain a little bit , then you have an easy way to stitch the leaves and stem in one shot .Here's how ..

Many among you would've already tried this as a variation of buttonhole or chain stitch

Alternating chained buttonhole lets you stitch the stem and leaves in one go. No going around twice for the stem and then the individual leaves.

I tried to get the complete pic of both the sides and so the photograph looks like its clicked from a distance.A few tiny flowers in the center and this pattern would be complete. Would purple flowers look good here? The base fabric is light blue.

Hope at least some of you found this tutorial useful,

Love, luck and sunshine,

Deepa