Today we’ll talk about one of the most popular stitches in hand embroidery – the satin stitch. As gorgeous as it might look, there are a few important things to consider if you want to achieve a perfectly smooth filling.
Let’s take a closer look at some tips for making your designs stand out and create silky fillings.
Types of Satin Stitch
USE: Filling shapes, lettering
OTHER NAMES: Damask stitch
Satin stitch is used to fill shapes with straight parallel stitches. The result is a solid, glossy finish that looks like satin, hence the name.
If you’re planning to fill an entire shape with a smooth flat finish this is the stitch you’ll want to be using. I use it quite a lot, and recently developed quite a passion for using it to stitch letters.
The basic satin stitch is part of a wider stitch family and once you’ve tried it I encourage you to incorporate into your works the other variations too. The results can be stunning!
Here are the four types of satin stitch:
- Basic satin stitch
- Outlined satin stitch
- Padded satin stitch
- Long and short stitch
Basic Satin Stitch
Step 1
Start the first stitch in the middle of the shape you’re trying to fill, or slightly away from the edge.
Step 2
Come up at A and down at B, as shown in the diagram.
Step 3
Create a few straight parallel stitches to establish the direction of your stitches. Then go on and fill in the gaps and build the satin stitch.
A few tips for a smooth finish
One thing many stitchers struggle with is keeping a straight line when building the satin stitch.
What I find really helpful is, before I actually stab the fabric, I hold the thread in the direction I want to place my next stitch, making sure I keep a straight line. Only after, I actually stab the fabric and create a perfect straight stitch.
I stitch a few parallel lines across the shape I’m trying to fill. Once these first parallel guides are straight is much easier to fill in between with other straight stitches.
Outlined Satin Stitch
For well-defined and crisp margins, the trick is to first outline the shape to be filled. The outlined satin stitch is basically this technique of outlining the shape before filling it.
I always first outline the shapes I want to fill with satin stitch and most of the time I use the split stitch for the outline. Might take a bit longer, but the difference in outcome is totally worth it.
Step 1
First outline the shape to be filled. You can use backstitch or split stitch to define the edge. Remember to start the first stitch in the middle of the shape you’re trying to fill, or slightly away from the edge.
Step 2
Stitch the satin stitch on top making sure you are hugging and covering the outline.
Padded Satin Stitch
The third stitch from this family comes in handy for projects where you want to create a raised effect so different elements will stand out. In order to create this raised effect, you’ll have to first add padding under the satin stitch.
The padding will create a nice three-dimensional effect and it’ll make our work look like is raised above the fabric.
The padding and the satin stitch should always form a 90-degrees angle.
So if the padding is stitched horizontally, then the satin stitch should be stitched vertically.
You can stitch the outline and padding using multiple strands. The more strands you’ll use for the padding, the more raised the shape will be.
Step 1
Outline your shape with split stitch to define the edge.
Step 2
Fill the entire area with split stitch or straight stitch. This will be the padding that will create the raised shape.
Step 3
Stitch the satin stitch on top of both the padding and the outline.
If you’re struggling with stitching perfect straight lines, here is a short video where I explain and share a few useful tips.
Long and Short Stitch
Believe it or not, the long and short stitch is actually part of the satin stitch family. Makes sense when you think about it’s basically made up of staggered straight stitches.
I will not go into much detail in this article, you can read a detailed tutorial about it in my floral alphabet article on stitching the flower petals.
Here is a brief diagram on the technique, mostly used in needle painting projects.
Step 1
First outline the shape to be filled with split stitch. Start the first row of Long and Short Stitch in the center of the shape and work towards each side.
Come up at A and down at B, covering the Split Stitch Outline. This first row of stitches should be worked very close together, leaving no gaps in between the stitches.
Step 2
Thread the second shade of color and start the second row. In the same manner as the first row, add alternating long and short stitches across the row.
Bring the needle up through the previous first row of stitches, NOT down! Going down into stitches will create little pepper marks and your work will look rough and uneven.
How many strands of floss should I use for satin stitch?
This is a common question about the satin stitch and honestly, there is no right or wrong answer. It all depends on what you want to achieve.
If you’re looking for a flat silky filling then you should use 1-2 strands when working the satin stitch. This doesn’t mean you can’t use more than one strand for the padding, if you’re stitching one.
If you’re after a more textured, still nice finish you can use 2-4 strands of thread for the satin stitch.
Here is an example of satin stitch worked with different strands.
On the left, a smooth padded satin stitch worked in 1 strand and 4 strands for the padding.
On the right, the flower and the leaves were stitching with satin stitch using 4 strands of thread.
Satin Stitch for Irregular Shapes
Contrary to its appearance, satin stitch can be a versatile stitch and you can use it for all sorts of shapes and sizes. Here’s an example where I used the stitch to embroider these peculiar people.
If you’d like to practice your stitching you can download the swimmers pattern from the free pattern library.
I stitched these irregular shapes using the exact same principles we previously talked about.
I first outlined and then filled each shape with a split stitch padding. On top of the outline and padding, I then built the satin stitch using just 1 strand of thread.
Each shape (leg, swimsuit, hand, cap, face) was stitched individually, starting from the middle of each shape.
Another thing to consider is the direction of your stitches. If you notice, my stitches follow a 45-degree angle.
How do you embroider letters in satin stitch?
As I was telling you in the beginning, the padded satin stitch can be a great choice for embroidering letters. I absolutely love the technique and with a bit of patience, the outcome can be breathtaking.
Here is a brief example of the padded satin stitch in a lettering project.
You can follow the detailed step-by-step instructions and video tutorial in my floral alphabet article on Stitching the letter.
1. First, outline the letter with split stitch to define the letter. Notice how each section of the letter was outlined individually.
2. Add the split stitch padding. For the long vertical section of the letter, the split stitch was worked vertically. For all the rest, horizontally.
3. Build up your Satin Stitch until the padding is completely covered and it looks smooth. Remember, your stitches should form a 90 degrees angle with the padding underneath.
4. In the same manner, I filled all the other sections of the letter, always having in mind the 90-degrees angle between the satin stitches and the padding.
For more creative ways to stitch letters check out my other article on how to embroider letters.
If you’re looking for more flower inspiration, don’t miss out on the flower coloring pages here. Even though these printable coloring sheets are not exactly embroidery patterns, you can totally tweak them for hand embroidery projects and use the satin stitch to embroider the flowers.
Satin Stitch FAQ’s
Satin stitch is a great fill stitch to create smooth finishes for small to medium size shapes.
The difference between straight and satin stitch reffers to the fact that a straight stitch is worked as a straight standalone line, while the satin stitch is essentially working parallel straight stitches close together.
If you’re looking for a smooth filling, use 1-2 strands of thread. If you’re looking for a more textured finish, you can use 2-6 strands of thread. Always have in mind the size of your project when using more than 4 strands of thread. It can produce chunky results if the pattern is too small.
The smoothest finish is achieved when using only one strand of thread.
GET ACCESS TO MY FREE PATTERN LIBRARY!
Grab one of the free patterns and practice your satin stitching straight away! To enter the Free Pattern Library fill out the form below and I will send you an email with your password. You can read more about my Free Pattern Library here.
MORE EMBROIDERY TUTORIALS
- Double Running Stitch Video Tutorial
- Back Stitch Video Tutorial
- Whipped Running Stitch Video Tutorial
- Raised Chain Stitch Band Embroidery
- How to Bind an Embroidery Hoop
- Hand Embroidery Supplies Essential for Beginners
What is your favorite embroidery stitch? Let me know in the comments below and don’t forget to tag @makenstitch on Instagram or hashtag it #makenstitch so we can connect!
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I’ve have read your blog. Honestly I’ve never read this type of blog before. Appreciate your work and will love to read your incoming articles too.
Thank you so much, Andrew! I see you’re in the embroidery business too. I’d love to learn the ins and outs of machine embroidery. Looking forward to reading stuff about it on your website!