Cable Stitch

In March 2022 at the Blackheath Embroidery group we were all given a stitch to work on and explore the stitch with different threads or thickness of threads within the embroidery skeins. My first sample of cable stitch got me into a tizz as within two different embroidery books that I have on my shelf at home, cable stitch samples were completely different. Mary Thomas shows cable stitch where by you start off with the thread around the needle as you were about to do a French knot and then do a chain stitch, but in the embroidery book of 100 stitches cable stitch by Anchor is called cable chain stitch. 

I decided to go with Mary Thomas book as the correct source as it was published within the 1930s and the 100 embroidery stitches by anchor was published sometime in the 50s or 60s, so you can see my dilemma. It didn’t help matters either with the internet searches as the RSN (royal school of needlework) has called cable stitch, cable chain stitch. 

My sample shows the cable stitch on the right from Mary Thomas and the left side of the photo has a stitch that would have been called side stem stitch.