Floss Field.
SearchSaved
All crafts

Open and background stitches · Beginner

Skip tent stitch

Tent stitch on every other intersection, in a checkerboard. Half the stitching, and the painted canvas shows between.

Skip tent stitch: the finished stitch on canvas, 24 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. Start in the top right corner

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

    Work a tent stitch in the top right corner.

  2. Skip a diagonal, stitch the next

    Skip tent stitch, step 2: four stitches on the canvas, the three this step adds in red. Numerals 3 to 8 mark the ends of the new stitches, in working order.

    Leave the next diagonal row empty. On the one after it, work a tent stitch on every intersection, traveling up the diagonal as you would in basketweave.

  3. Carry on, down then up

    Skip tent stitch, step 3: 15 stitches on the canvas, the eleven this step adds in red.

    Carry on, stitching one diagonal row and skipping the next, traveling down one stitched row and up the next.

  4. The finished checkerboard

    Skip tent stitch, step 4: 24 stitches on the canvas, the nine this step adds in red.

    Stitched and bare intersections end up in a checkerboard.

At a glance

Also called
skipped tent stitch
Used for
painted shading you want to show; light backgrounds; sky; large areas
Coverage
Open: painted canvas shows through
Direction
Slanted up to the right
Stitch length
Over 1 intersection

Skip tent is tent stitch with every other intersection left bare. It makes a light, lace-like texture and lets a shaded, painted background do the work. Open stitches like this suit backgrounds and large areas and are usually quicker than full coverage.

Because the canvas shows, thread ends are harder to hide. Anchor them behind neighboring areas of full-coverage stitching where you can.

Skip tent is also known as basketweave twill. One teacher's rule for keeping it right: decide at the start whether your stitches sit on the horizontal canvas threads or the vertical ones, and stay there for the whole area.

Tips

  • Always work it on the diagonal, like basketweave with every other row left out. The thread then passes evenly behind the skipped holes, which looks better from the front.

When it goes wrong

The checkerboard goes wrong after a gap.
When part of the design interrupts a row, find your place by the canvas, not by counting. If your stitches have all been on horizontal canvas threads, the next one is too.
Nowhere to hide the thread ends.
Besides neighboring stitches, you can secure them in the margin outside the design.

Variations

  • Skip tent variation. One diagonal row in tent stitch and the next in reversed tent stitch. One shop describes the effect as close to T stitch.
  • Skip cross stitch. A small cross in place of each tent stitch.
  • Filled skip tent. The bare intersections can be filled afterward with beads or knots, or with skip tent slanting the other way.

Questions

Does it matter which intersections I stitch?
A little. One teacher notes that stitches on the vertical-thread intersections show more texture, because those intersections sit higher in the weave of the canvas.
Is skip tent only for backgrounds?
No. It is most used for backgrounds, but it also works in small areas.

Where to go next

Stitches

Guides