Satin Stitch Tutorial

Satin Stitch… whether you love this stitch or hate it, it is a foundational hand embroidery stitch worth knowing.  Personally, it is probably the stitch that is my least favorite and that I am most self-critical about.  It does require some very focused concentration and precision. But don’t let that stop you; because the end result is so good.

STEP 1: Bring your needle up through the fabric just outside the edge of your pattern.  For purposes of this tutorial, I am starting on the outside corner and working my way to the other end.  However, sometimes I find it easier to start in the middle and carefully work your way out, especially if it is a large space that I am filling in.

STEP 2: Directly across from your initial stitch, bring your needle down through the fabric, pulling the floss all the way through until it lays flat. Pay attention to the angle of this stich because it sets a precedence for all your other stitches.

STEP 3: Directly next to where you placed the needle in Step 1, bring your needle up and repeat Step 1 and Step 2 again.  Your next stitch will always be across from the end of the previous one.

There you go.  Satin Stitch is really just a series of straight stitches all lined up next to each other.  It can be the easiest or hardest stitch of them all depending on your personality and if you have any perfectionist tendencies (guilty!).  But it is also a stitch where practice definitely helps. 

HINTS:

• Satin Stitch is all about direction and keeping your stitch at the same angle as the previous one.
• In this demonstration, I am use 6 strands of floss because it shows up best on camera.  But I often vary the number of strands depending on how big the flower is and what kind of look I am wanting.  I find that I am often happier with the finished result when I use a smaller amount of floss strands, especially when I am looking for a more subtle, clean look.
• It is important that you also bring up your new satin stitch ACROSS from your where you brought your needle down to create your previous satin stitch.  In other words, bring your needle UP all on the one side (ex: bottom as shown in the photos) and bring your needle DOWN all on one side (ex. Top as shown in the photos).  This will keep a consistent tension that will allow your stitches and fabric to lay flat and not pucker up.  Another way to check this is to make sure that the back of your fabric looks the same as the front.

 To read through all the other stitches in my library, click HERE.