Straight stitches · Easy
Balloon stitch
Upright stitches over two, four, six and eight canvas threads that swell and narrow in turn, in rows that lock together into a field of rounded balloons.
How to work it
A short stitch on the middle line
Choose a horizontal line of holes in an open part of the area as the middle of the first row. Starting at the left, come up one hole below it and go down one hole above it: an upright stitch over two canvas threads.
One hole longer at each end
In the next column of holes to the right, come up one hole lower than the last stitch began and go down one hole higher than it ended: a stitch over four threads.
Build up to the widest pair
Lengthen the next stitch the same way, to six threads, then work two stitches over eight threads side by side: the middle of the balloon.
Narrow again to two threads
Shorten by one hole at each end: a stitch over six threads, one over four and one over two. That is one balloon. In a wider area the row runs on with a second stitch over two threads, then four, six, eight and eight again.
Lock the next row into the first
The middle line of the next row is five threads below the first. Under the short stitch just made, come up four threads below the new line and go down eight threads higher, in the hole where the short stitch began.
Fill the row back to the left
Work back to the left with stitches over six, four, two, two, four, six and eight threads, each going down into the hole where the stitch above it began. The two short stitches join one balloon to the next. The third row repeats the first, five threads lower again, and the two alternate from there.
At a glance
- Also called
- balloon satin stitch
- Used for
- large backgrounds; sky and clouds; water; clothing in a design; round shapes
- Coverage
- Full, with a thread a little thicker than for tent stitch
- Direction
- Upright
- Stitch length
- Over 2, 4, 6 or 8 canvas threads
A balloon is eight stitches wide, and the pattern needs room to form: use it for large backgrounds, sky, clouds and water, or for clothing in a design. It also fills a round shape well, because its stitches can be shortened to follow the curve.
The long stitches show off a thread with sheen, silk most of all, and contrast with tent stitch beside them. As a background it is best behind a plain subject.
Tips
- Use one more strand or ply than tent stitch takes on the same canvas, and try it in the margin first: a straight stitch lies between canvas threads, not across them, and covers less.
- With a stranded thread, stroke the strands flat with a laying tool at every stitch.
- In rows above the first as well as below it, come up in an empty hole and go down into one that already holds a stitch: the surface is smoother.
- Keep the tension easy, on stretcher bars or a frame: stitches of such different lengths distort the canvas when pulled tight.
When it goes wrong
- The rows do not lock together.
- Find the miscount by counting down a column: two neighboring rows cover ten threads between them and meet in one hole, eight with two, six with four.
- Hollows are left at the edge.
- Fill them last with compensating stitches, shorter and in the same direction. Along a straight edge at the ends of the longest stitches, the gap is one thread at a stitch over six, two at a stitch over four and three at a stitch over two.
- A thread end works loose.
- The long stitches on the back grip a tail loosely. Begin with an away knot, or stitch a neighboring area first and run the thread under the back of its stitches.
Variations
- Balloons in columns. Turn the canvas a quarter turn and work the same steps: the stitches then lie horizontally.
Questions
- Will balloon stitch stand up to wear?
- Not on a piece that is used. Nothing holds a stitch between its ends, so a long one snags or goes slack, and the longest here cover eight canvas threads. On a pillow, a bag or a belt, which get wear, keep each stitch to a few canvas threads. On a framed piece or an ornament, stitches over six or eight threads are safe.