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Straight stitches · Beginner

Satin stitch

Parallel stitches, slanted, upright or horizontal, laid side by side to fill a small shape. The smooth surface sets it off from the tent stitch around it.

Satin stitch: the finished stitch on canvas, 21 stitches, some slanting up to the right and some upright, in two colors
The finished stitch on canvas. The colors only tell neighboring stitches apart: the upright band is one band, and changes color under each column. 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. Lay the first slanted stitch

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

    For the slanted form, in a column three canvas threads wide, come up on the left edge three holes below the top and go down at the top right corner, over three intersections.

  2. Step down one hole at each end

    Satin stitch, step 2: three stitches on the canvas, the two this step adds in red.

    Come up one hole below the start of the last stitch and go down one hole below its end. Repeat down the column: three full stitches here.

  3. Fill the corners with shorter stitches

    Satin stitch, step 3: seven stitches on the canvas, the four this step adds in red.

    Cover the bare triangle at each end of the column with two compensating stitches at the same slant: one over two intersections beside the full stitches, then one over a single intersection in the corner.

  4. Add a second column beside it

    Satin stitch, step 4: 14 stitches on the canvas, the seven this step adds in red.

    Work the same seven stitches three threads to the right, so that the two columns share the holes between them. This time come up at the upper right end of each stitch, where the canvas is bare.

  5. Work a band of upright stitches

    Satin stitch, step 5: 21 stitches on the canvas, the seven this step adds in red.

    For the upright form, here a band three threads tall under the columns, come up at the bottom left corner of the band and go down three canvas threads straight above. Continue to the right, one stitch from every hole along the bottom edge: seven here.

At a glance

Used for
leaves and petals; stripes and columns; narrow borders; small motifs set in tent stitch
Coverage
Full
Direction
Slanted up to the right and upright
Stitch length
From edge to edge of the shape; here 1 to 3 intersections slanted, 3 canvas threads upright

The slanted form is the quick way to cover a stripe, a column or a border two to four canvas threads wide, since one stitch crosses the whole width. It also follows a curved outline a little more smoothly than upright or horizontal stitches do.

Begin a leaf or a petal at its widest part and work outward to each side, each stitch as long as the outline allows. Every stitch ends in a hole, so a curve comes out in small steps. Divide a shape too wide for one stitch into bands that share a line of holes.

For a well-covered back, begin every stitch of a column or a band at the same end. Beside stitches already worked, that end is the bare one: a needle coming up through a filled hole drags fibers of the neighboring color into the new stitch.

Tips

  • Choose silk, pearl cotton or rayon where the shape should shine.
  • Where a compensating stitch would be awkward, work a tent stitch in its place.
  • Add a line of backstitch over a finished leaf for its vein.

When it goes wrong

Canvas shows between upright or horizontal stitches.
These stitches lie between canvas threads, not across intersections. Give the thread one more ply or strand than tent stitch needs, trying it on a small shape in the margin first, or slant the stitches.
A stranded thread twists and looks uneven.
Before each stitch tightens, smooth its strands flat and parallel with a laying tool or with the needle.
The canvas pulls out of square.
Slanted stitches pull the canvas as they are worked, and tight ones pull it more. Work the slanted form on a frame and let each stitch lie without pulling.

Variations

  • Alternating columns. Slant every other column the opposite way, so that the stitches of neighboring columns meet in points.
  • Satin blocks. Fill a larger area with small squares stitched upright and horizontal in turn, so that no stitch is long.
  • Padded satin stitch. Work the shape in tent stitch first, then lay the satin stitches over it in the same thread.

Questions

Is satin stitch the same as long stitch?
They are made the same way. The stitch is called satin stitch where it fills a small smooth shape among tent stitches, and long stitch where it fills a whole picture.
How long can a satin stitch be?
Nothing holds a stitch between its ends, so a long one snags or goes slack. 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 and about twenty is the limit.

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