Alternating Continental Stitch
The Alternating Continental Needlepoint Stitch is a variation of the Continental Stitch. It creates a more textured and visually interesting effect. In this tutorial you will find 2 versions of the Alternating Continental Stitch, so we recommend that you choose the one that best suits your project.
Stitch Details
- Stitch Structure: Variation, Openwork
- Related Stitches: Tent Stitch, Skipped Tent, T-Stitch
- Recommended for: Large areas
Alternating Continental Stitch - v1 Instructions & Diagram
You can see the diagram of this stitch below.
- From top left to bottom right, make a reverse tent stitch, then go two fabric intersections diagonally down to the bottom right, and make another reverse tent stitch, continue until you finish that diagonal row
- Once you have finished the last reverse tent stitch, move the needle two canvas threads down
- This time we will create a sequence of parallel tent stitches, where the top stitch will be in the same canvas hole as the top or bottom stitch of the row made in step 1
- At the end of the previous row we will move the needle two canvas threads down and repeat the process starting with step 1
Alternating Continental Stitch - v2 Instructions & Diagram
You can see the diagram of this stitch below.
- Make a tent stitch diagonally down to the right, then move the needle one canvas thread up and one to the right, and insert the needle from back to front
- Make a tent stitch diagonally downward to the left, then move the needle one canvas thread down and one to the right
- From this point make a reverse tent stitch, at the end move the needle one canvas thread down and one to the left
- Make a tent stitch to finish the pattern
- Repeat the process as many times as necessary
Stitch Guides where Alternating Continental Stitch is used
Check out our Stitch Guides where this stitch is used to get some inspiration for your needlepoint project.
If you have doubts about what stitches to choose for your project - check our Tips to select Needlepoint Stitches or Our favorite Needlepoint Decorative Stitches.
Happy stitching :)
