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Open and background stitches · Beginner

Darning stitch

Running stitches in straight rows, over a few threads and under one, offset from row to row to make a pattern.

Darning stitch: the finished stitch on canvas, ten stitches, all level, in two colors
The finished stitch on canvas. Every stitch runs from one hole to another; the two colors are only there to tell the stitches apart. In the steps, new stitches are red, and the numbers give the order: up at an odd number, down at the next even one.

How to work it

  1. Stitch over three threads

    Darning stitch, step 1: the first stitch on the canvas. Numerals 1 and 2 mark its ends, in working order.

    Bring the needle up and go down three threads along the same row.

  2. Under one thread

    Darning stitch, step 2: one stitch on the canvas, and a dot in the hole where the needle comes up next. Numeral 3 marks that hole.

    Pass under one thread and come up again.

  3. Over three, under one

    Darning stitch, step 3: two stitches on the canvas, the one this step adds in red. Numerals 3 and 4 mark its ends, in working order.

    Continue across the row: over three, under one.

  4. Shift the next row

    Darning stitch, step 4: four stitches on the canvas, the two this step adds in red.

    On the next row, shift the stitches along by two threads so they sit like bricks.

At a glance

Used for
flat areas; water and sunsets; curtains and walls
Coverage
Light and flat; canvas shows between rows unless each row is worked more than once
Direction
Level, along the row
Stitch length
Over 3 canvas threads

Darning is one of the flattest stitches you can put on canvas: long running stitches that pick up very little canvas between them. Change the counts and the shift between rows to build other geometric patterns; any count works.

For fuller cover, some stitchers work each row back and forth several times through the same line of holes.

Because the thread dips under only one canvas thread between stitches, nearly all of it lies on the surface. The gaps between rows let a painted canvas show, and one stitch-guide writer chose darning for snow so that the painted shading would come through. Rows can run in any direction, and the effect is softer than the crisp diagonal of tent stitch.

Stitchers use it for sky, snow on the ground, windows, furniture, sidewalks and whole backgrounds. Changing the kind of thread from row to row is another way to vary it.

Tips

  • As with any open stitch, thread ends are hard to hide. Anchor them behind neighboring full-coverage stitches where you can.

When it goes wrong

A tight spot in the middle of a row.
Start and end a thread only at the end of a row, and check before each row that you have enough thread to finish it. A thread ended mid-row pulls, and the pull shows.
Nowhere to hide the thread ends.
Secure them in the margin outside the design, or under stitches already worked in a neighboring area.

Variations

  • Random darning. Stitches of uneven length, worked without a strict count.
  • Double darning. A second journey along each row fills the gaps left by the first, through the same holes, so the row becomes a solid line and the back matches the front.

Questions

Where do I start a darning pattern?
At the outer edge of the area. Work across, then drop to the row below where you finished and work back.

Where to go next

Stitches

Guides