Granitos stitch is a perfect little stitch best suited to make little petals for your embroidered flowers. It is very simple to do, and The basis of this stitch is the straight stitch, the simplest of all embroidery stitches.
As is obvious the name refers to grains – It is a spanish word meaning “grains”. (un granito de arroz meaning a grain of rice).Granitos stitch is made by taking small stitches in and out of the same two holes in the fabric alternating the placement of thread .
How to do the Granitos stitch
Step 1
Thread your needle with 6 strands of thread ( the full embroidery thread)
Step 2
Bring the needle and thread to the front of the fabric at point A. Insert the needle back into the fabric at point BÂ a short distance away from A . Pull the thread through to complete the first stitch.
Step 3
Bring the needle and thread to the front of the fabric again at point A, through the same hole as in the previous stitch.
Insert the needle back into the fabric at point B, taking care to go through the same hole as in the previous stitch.Arrange the thread so that it is not piling on top of the previous stitch. You can arrange it so that it lies left to the first stitch
Bring the needle and thread to the front of the fabric at point A for the third time. Ensure that the needle emerges through the same hole as in the previously worked stitches. Insert the needle back into the fabric at point B and loop the thread to the right. Pull the thread through, making certain that the third stitch lies to the right of the first stitch.
Continue doing this same actions adding thread to each side of the first stitch ( A-B) till you have the shape you want. 3-4 times will give you a nice shape of a petal. When you are finished, take needle to the back , tie off.
You can experiment with this stitch by adding more number of thread or using special kinds of thread etc.
Checkout this small flower done using a Granitos stitch.
This is made by making granitos stitch which is slightly loose like earlier. You can place a upholstery needle under each stitch everytime you make a straight stitch to make it look evenly puffy like the picture below.
You can make little rosebuds using this stitch which look absolutely gorgeous.
To make the rosebud you have to make 4 granitos stitches, the first one bud, then sepals are slanted granitos stitches, then the part connecting it to the stem.
Reference :The Embroiderer’s Handbook By Margie Bauer
 Related posts : A list of stitches used in Hand embroidery
