How to Work Backstitch

Backstitch is the sturdy little hand stitch that draws a solid, unbroken line — work one stitch forward, come back and fill the gap, and the line never breaks. In our shop it’s the embroidery stitch behind the quokka’s big grin, the magpie’s feather shafts and the cassowary’s brows, worked in ordinary thread on a finished crochet piece.

Step by step

Thread a needle with a comfortable length of thread or floss — about an arm’s length at most, because longer lengths tangle and fray — and knot the end. If you’re embroidering on a finished crochet or knitted piece, a blunt yarn needle is kind; on fabric, a sharp embroidery needle glides better.
Bring the needle up through the work at the very start of your line and pull the thread through until the knot (or a few tiny anchoring stitches on the back) catches.
Push the needle down one stitch length ahead of where you came up — about 3–5 mm is a friendly beginner size — and pull the thread through. That first stitch sits on its own for a moment; don’t worry, it won’t be lonely long.
Bring the needle up again one full stitch length beyond that first stitch, so there’s a gap of bare line ahead of it.
Now go backwards: push the needle down into the exact hole at the end of the first stitch, so the new stitch lands snug against it with no gap and no overlap. That back-step is the whole trick — every stitch is worked by stepping forward underneath and back on top.
Repeat the rhythm all the way along: up one stitch length ahead, down into the end of the last stitch. On the front you see a solid dashed-free line; on the back you’ll see stitches twice as long, which is quite normal.
Keep your stitch lengths even — counting crochet stitches or fabric threads as you go helps. Even lengths are what make a backstitch line look printed rather than wobbly, and a wobbly grin is only charming up to a point.
Around a curve, simply shorten your stitches: little stitches turn corners gracefully where long ones would cut across. Our embroidered smiles and feather lines are all short-stitched for exactly this reason.
To finish, take the needle down at the end of the line and secure the thread on the back with two or three tiny stitches over the last stitch’s path, then snip. On an amigurumi face, bury the tail inside the stuffing and it’ll never be seen again.

Patterns that use it

Quokka Crochet Pattern | Funny Aussie Amigurumi PDF, Big Grin & Selfie Pose, Crochet Quokka Pattern, Instant Download

Swooping Magpie Crochet Pattern | Funny Aussie Amigurumi Bird PDF, Hanging Magpie Decor, Crochet Bird Pattern, Instant Download

Cassowary Crochet Pattern | Funny Aussie Amigurumi Bird PDF, Casque & Wattle, Crochet Cassowary Pattern, Instant Download

Only 3 products in the live catalogue name backstitch in their copy — all three are linked above; plenty of other pieces have embroidered faces, but their copy doesn’t name the stitch.

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Common mistakes

Missing the exact hole at the end of the last stitch when you step back, so each new stitch lands a whisker off and the solid line turns into a row of dashes with gaps. Slow down at that moment — the back-step is the whole stitch.
Hauling every stitch drum-tight. On crochet especially, tight backstitch puckers the surface and makes an embroidered face look like it’s squinting — snug and smooth beats tight every time.
Taking long, lazy stitches around a curve. A 5 mm stitch that turns a smile into a straight chord will flatten it; curves want short stitches, 2–3 mm, following the line faithfully.

Tina’s tips

Draw your line first with a light pencil or a few pins before you stitch a face. Ten seconds of marking saves the unpicking, and on a finished amigurumi piece unpicking is nobody’s friend.
If a grin still looks wobbly, don’t unpick it straight away — leave it overnight and look again in daylight. Half the wobbles I fretted over were invisible by morning; the ones still there only need one or two stitches adjusted.