How to Sew Darning Stitch: A Beginner's Guide

The use of darning (also known as needleweaving) in embroidery is something I started doing a couple of years ago. My sister had bought herself a loom to start weaving and I was intensely envious - desperate to get to try my hand at the craft too. However, I knew I already had too many hobbies, too many craft supplies, and couldn't really justify spending my hobby time doing something other than embroidery.

So, instead, I did a sneaky workaround in order to find a way to incorporate weaving into my embroidery... enter darning. What I enjoy the most about darning is how much variety you can create with one relatively simple technique. It takes some practice to get to grips with it, but once you have mastered it, you can endlessly play. You can do anything from 2 colours to 10 colours, any wild array of shapes, and it look incredibly sophisticated in the finished pieces.

In this video guide below from our Start Stitching virtual course, we show how to use darning in embroidery. The guide covers key darning techniques, shows how to darn in embroidery, ways to incorporate different colours in your darning, and some darning tips and tricks. And a few examples of how I incorporate darning into embroidery designs.