Running knot
Single coral
​Coral stitch is a line stitch interspersed with evenly spaced knots.  It has similarities with scroll stitch although the line between the knots is straight, rather than curved.
Coral stitch has an ancient provenance as it is credited with being one of the stitches used by ancient Egyptian stitchers.  More recently, it features on the earliest known English sampler, dated 1598, a late 16th century English headdress and was a popular stitch in 17th and 18th century English crewelwork.
It became an integral part of German Schwalm Whitework (Schwälmer Weißstickerei) in the late 18th century and early 19th century.  It is also used in Sardinian knotted embroidery (Punt 'e Nù), a form of counted thread whitework from Teulada, Sardinia.
For an Elizabethan variation on Pekinese stitch which uses coral stitch as its basis, see Elizabethan double looped edging .
