The fern stitch is actually a combination of three straight stitches. These are then stacked on top of each other to create the look of a plant or sea-plant.

This is a really easy stitch – as it’s just sets of three straight stitches stacked on top (or beside) one another. I like to use it for seaweed as it reminds me of the kind you buy for fish aquariums. (But I’ve had a love of underwater pictures since my very first design in third grade. For a long time I thought I’d ONLY be drawing and stitching underwater stuff!) It also reminds me a little of the horsetail fern we had in the western Pacific Northwest when I was growing up.

Other Uses for Fern Stitch

This is a stitch I haven’t done a lot of experimenting with: I’d love to see what you come up with. Feel free to post links in the comments! I think it would make lovely even borders, seaweed as mentioned earlier.