Where to go next with blackwork
Free stitch, colour and history.
- Try free-stitch blackwork, where fabric threads are not counted.
- Try red thread: blackwork in red is called scarletwork.
- Add accents in metallic or coloured thread, as was sometimes done historically.
- Stem or chain stitch also work for outlines.
- Blackwork was popular in England from the late 1400s to the early 1600s.
Watch
Blackwork Embroidery Tutorial & Free Blackwork Pattern for Beginners! (15:02)
By The Giddy Stitcher · Open on YouTube
Chosen from its title and channel: a 15-minute video from The Giddy Stitcher on the same topic as this guide. Embedded from YouTube with credit; we don't host it. It only loads when you press play.
All guides ›Blackwork
Sources
All checked November 1, 2026. We read these; we did not test the products ourselves.