Learn how to do Bayeux stitch embroidery

A month today (1 July 2026) tickets will go on sale to see the Bayeux Tapestry when it returns to British soil and goes on display at the British Museum in September 2026.

As keen embroidery enthusiasts how can we forego the chance to master the Bayeux stitch that is used all over the place on the awesome Bayeux Tapestry?

Join us for a Bayeux stitch workshop, 8th August, which includes this beautiful embroidery kit designed by artist James Tovey. Peterborough Museum.

What is special about Bayeux stitch?

The Bayeux stitch is extremely useful as it is a quick and economical way to cover your embroidery fabric.

It’s quick as it comprises very long stitches, which are held down with spaced out smaller stitches.

It’s economical as the long stitches are sewn so that the majority of the thread is on the front side of the fabric, and the minimum of thread is on the back of the fabric.

How to do Bayeux stitch?

First draw a shape (eg a leaf or square) on a scrap of fabric and thread your needle. Here we’re going to show the example worked in Appleton’s crewel wool – as the Bayeux Tapestry was stitched with wool. You can do it with stranded cotton (e.g. DMC) if that ‘s what you have.

Sew your stitches parallel to one another, and make them as long as you can. Some will be very long! This is the aim.

STEP 1: Thread your needle with crewel wool and sew it double stranded.

Sew long parallel stitches across your shape. Go from one side of your shape to the other using a single stitch. The aim is to have the longest possible stitches so that you fill your shape as quickly as possible.

When starting each new stitch bring the needle up very close to where it has just gone down. This will mean that very little thread is on the back of the fabric. This will help you fill the front more quickly. It will also mean you use less thread (than if you had long strands of thread on the back too). And keeping the long stitches as far as possible just on the front side also helps your stitching not become too bulky.

This first layer of stitching is the “laid” layer.

If you follow the numbering on this image, you will have long stitches n the front of your fabric, and short stitches on the back. This is what you want. This is also known as Half Satin stitch, or Laid Work. It is the first step in Bayeux stitch.

STEP 2: Thread your needle with a single strand. Now you are going to sew the stitches that will hold the long laid stitches in place. This layer is the “couching”.

Sew stitches perpendicular to the base layer.

As you go, you will also sew tiny stitches to anchor the long couching stitches in place.

Now you have learned how to do Bayeux stitching.

3 tips for sewing Bayeux stitch

You will find it easier to do one long couching stitch, and then anchor it down with the tiny stitches, before doing the next couching stitch. (If you prefer, you can sew all the long couching stitches, then do all the tiny ones, but this is more difficult to get a good tension).

With your base layer experiment with how many base stitches you wish to use to fill the space. Also try out different spacing for the couching stitches and the tiny anchoring stitches.

At first try and make your stitches as orderly as you can. For instance make al the base layer run parallel to one another other. Place your couching layer very neatly at right angles to the base layer. And place each couching stitch so that each couching stitch is evenly spaced from one another. Similarly space the tiny anchor stitches evenly.

This image show closely spaced Bayeux stitch on the bright blue and pale yellow areas, and more widely spaced Bayeux stitches on the dark blue and dark yellow areas.

Once you’ve got that under your belt you can experiment!

Which stitches were used on the Bayeux Tapestry

Largely Bayeux stitch, stem stitch and chain stitch.

Learn more about Bayeux stitch – come to our August workshop

8 August, Peterborough Museum – Find out more & book a place!

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