The Barred Chain stitch is another stitch type that is simple to do but looks impressively complicated.

It is a combination of the single Chain stitch and the Twisted Chain stitch and can be worked in straight and curved lines or circles. It's also very useful for making borders.

• Work your design away from you (downward on the pattern).

• Come up from the back side of your fabric.

• You will alternate one Chain stitch followed by one Twisted Chain stitch until you reach the end of the design element and tie off.

• Make a single Chain stitch.

• To created the Twisted Chain, take a weave stitch starting at the looped end of your single Chain on the left side.

• Emerge with this weave stitch the same length as your single Chain.

011 Vintage 1973 ERICA WILSON COLUMBIA MINERVA Crewel Embroidery Kit OWL TREE $4.99 Time Remaining: 1h 46m

• Create the Twisted Chain stitch, followed by the single Chain through the length of your design.

• The start of the Twisted Chain stitch (insertion of the needle to the left of the single chain stitch) creates the "bar" on your chain.

• Keep the the insertion points the same distance from the single chain to create a uniform "barred" effect.

• Experiment with taking the start point closer or farther apart to create shorter or longer "bars."

• Of course you can always start the Twisted Chain on the right side of the single Chain stitch as your design dictates.

• The Barred Chain stitch can be done with a variety of threads, yarns, ribbons and beads.