Sewing

Sewing is an ancient craft involving the stitching of cloth, leather, animal skins, furs, or other materials, using needle and thread. Its use is nearly universal among human populations and dates back to Paleolithic times (30,000 BC). Sewing predates the weaving of cloth.

List of stitches

• back tack
• backstitch
• basting stitch (or tacking) - for temporary fixing
• blanket stitch
• blind stitch (or hem stitch)
• buttonhole stitch
• chain stitch
• cross-stitch
• feather stitch
• hemming stitch
• lockstitch
• overlock
• padding stitch
• running stitch - for seams and gathering
• sailmakers stitch
• slip stitch - for fastening a folded edge to a flat piece of fabric, or to another folded edge
• straight stitch
• topstitch
• whipstitch (or oversewing stitch) - for protecting edges
• zig-zag stitch