Byzantine stitches are long, beautiful stitches used a great deal as the background for needlepoint work.
Worked in rows of six to eight stitches (our example is for eight stitches), half of these stitches will be worked horizontally and the rest are worked vertically to form a step type pattern. Byzantine stitches are worked over two to four intersection points.
To work a Byzantine stitch, bring your needle up at A, cross number of intersection points as directed by your pattern and take needle back down at B. Continue with pattern. Each additional row is worked alternating up the canvas and then down the canvas, filling in areas and stitches of the row before.
Byzantine stitching may not be the best choice for small areas.
Byzantine allows several variations that include stitching rows in the same color or stitching out contrasting colors and rows to create stripes.