Bullion Stitch 101:
Learn the Basics and Beyond

I am using the darkest of three shades of pink for this stitch as it will end up being the centre of a bullion rose (see below).

Bring your needle up through the fabric at one end of your bullion, then take a "bite" of fabric on the needle from a short distance away, coming back up in the first hole. The length of this bite will vary depending on the thread you are using and the length you wish your bullion knot to be.

This next photo illustrates the way of holding the needle and fabric that I was shown, resulting in my being able to produce neat bullion knots.

Push the needle three quarters of the way through the fabric, then fold your work level with where the point of the needle exits the fabric. If you are right-handed, place your right thumb in front of the needle, and your index finger behind it, with the needle pointing up at the ceiling.

Your index finger will help to hold the thread wraps in place in the next step.

Hold the thread in your left hand and start winding it around the needle in a clockwise direction.

After about six turns, slide the wraps down the needle to the fabric and hold them with your right index finger. Then continue wrapping until you have enough wraps to create the stitch length you require.

To check this, you can lay the needle down in the direction the stitch will lay to see if the wraps will reach. Don't skimp! If in doubt add some extra wraps

The next step is to hold the pointed end of the needle with your left hand and gently pull it through the fabric using your right thumb and index finger to ease the wraps off the eye end of the needle. It helps if you haven't wrapped too tightly!

If they are stubborn, you may need to use a thumbnail to help push the wraps. (I couldn't photograph this step as I only have two hands and needed one for the camera.)

When the needle is free of wraps, pull it through until the knot lays on the surface of the fabric. Smooth the fabric flat on your table or work surface and smooth the knot into position using the needle underneath the wraps until it sits just nicely where you want it. Ensure the working thread is pulled right through the knot and then plunge the needle through the fabric at the very end of the knot where the thread already passes through the fabric.

To make a bullion loop, wrap the thread more times than will fill the gap between the needle's entry and exit points. The stitch will then coil round and make a loop. In fact, another name for bullion stitch is coil stitch. It is also known by the descriptive term caterpillar stitch. If you make a long coil, then couch it down near to each end, the middle of the stitch forms a little hump that can really look like a little caterpillar.

Pick three toning coloured threads and start with the darkest. Work two bullion knots side by side.

Change to the medium toned thread and work longer stitches surrounding the centre two. Think brickwork here, and overlap each stitch so that they don't all begin and end at the same places.

Work your way around the centre creating overlapping knots. The knots in this "round" will have more wraps than the centre two.

Change to the lightest toned thread and work a third round in the same manner. I used two strands of floss for this final round. Wrap enough times for each stitch so that you make a loop that will sit outside the existing stitches.

This photo shows where the next stitch in the rose will be placed.

This photo shows my finished bullion stitch rose. If the stitches in your last round are quite long you can use 1 strand of embroidery floss to couch them so that they lay where you want them. Finish your rose by adding a stem and leaves.

If you arrange five bullion knot stitches in a circle they can create a simple starfish motif. I used these on an under-the-sea crazy quilt block..

Crochet thread and a silk twist produced a nice smooth effect to these motifs. 

The photo above shows what a bullion stitch-gone-wrong looks like. Do you see the loose threads alongside four of the bullions? 

I had the needle facing the wrong direction, which caused this to happen. Instead of coming up in the same hole at the center of the starfish each time, I came up on the outside, leaving this extra piece of thread showing.

If you find this happening, at least you will now know why and how to prevent it. 

I hope this page has shown you a variety of bullion stitches and that they are not as difficult as you may have believed. Have fun, and share your results. I would be delighted to see what you come up with.