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Box and diagonal stitches · Beginner

Diagonal mosaic stitch

Mosaic worked in continuous diagonal rows: short, long, short, long, with no break between boxes.

Diagonal mosaic stitch: the finished stitch on canvas, 29 stitches, all slanting up to the right, 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. Work a short stitch, then a long one

    Diagonal mosaic stitch, step 1: the first two stitches on the canvas. Numerals 1 to 4 mark the ends of the new stitches, in working order.

    Work a tent stitch over one intersection, then beside it a diagonal stitch over two intersections, starting one hole below the tent stitch.

  2. Short, long, down the diagonal

    Diagonal mosaic stitch, step 2: 13 stitches on the canvas, the eleven this step adds in red. Numerals 5 and 6 mark the ends of the first new stitch, in working order.

    Continue down the diagonal: short, long, short, long.

  3. Work the next row back up

    Diagonal mosaic stitch, step 3: 20 stitches on the canvas, the seven this step adds in red.

    Work the next diagonal row back up beside it, so that its short stitches touch the long stitches of the first row and its long stitches touch the short ones.

At a glance

Also called
Florence stitch, condensed mosaic stitch
Used for
striped diagonal texture; backgrounds; large areas
Coverage
Full
Direction
Slanted up to the right
Stitch length
Over 1 or 2 intersections

The unbroken diagonal lines make a subtle stripe. It is easy to work, covers large areas quickly and is a common choice for backgrounds.

The stitch is at least as old as 1842, when an American needlework handbook printed it under the name German stitch, and it was one of the stitches of Berlin wool work. A needlework encyclopedia later in that century gives the same construction as Florentine stitch, a name that now usually means bargello.

The unbroken diagonal lines suggest movement, so besides backgrounds it is suggested for grass and fields, waves, leaves and the folds of cloth. It is small enough to fit narrow areas, and in wool it gives a lot of texture.

It is easy to compensate: where a long stitch will not fit at an edge, a tent stitch at the same angle takes its place.

One teacher sets it beside Nobuko, another true diagonal stitch, working the diagonal mosaic first and filling in around it.

Tips

  • This is a good first decorative stitch to learn after tent stitch.

When it goes wrong

The canvas pulls out of square.
Diagonal mosaic can pull the canvas more than a straight stitch does. Work on a frame or stretcher bars.
Two long stitches meet side by side.
The rows have slipped. In every row a short stitch should sit against a long stitch of the row before, and a long against a short.

Variations

  • Reversed diagonal mosaic. The same stitch with the slant reversed.
  • Diagonal Scotch stitch. The same idea with three lengths of stitch in place of two.

Questions

Is diagonal mosaic the same as condensed mosaic?
Yes. One stitch reference lists it as condensed mosaic stitch, with Florence stitch, German stitch and diagonal mosaic as other names.
How does it differ from mosaic stitch?
Both use stitches over one and two intersections. Mosaic groups them into small squares. Diagonal mosaic runs them on in lines.

Where to go next

Stitches

Guides