How To Do The Satin Embroidery Stitch

The satin embroidery stitch is a beginner friendly technique that is very commonly used in hand embroidery. It’s considered a filling stitch and has a smooth appearance when completed. Here’s how to do the satin stitch!

This post is part of many embroidery stitch tutorials available on this site!

Make straight stitches side by side, filling in an area/shape. Make sure to place the stitches side by side one another so that they are touching but not overlapping. The edges of the stitches should be smooth and even or follow the outline of the shape you are filling in.

Tips For Creating Neat Satin Stitches

• Take extra care in making sure that the ends of your stitches line up with one another or that they line up neatly against the edge of whatever shape you are filling in.
• Make sure that each stitch lays directly next to one another. Avoid leaving any gaps between them so you don’t have to go back and overlap stitches.
• You can use many different types of embroidery thread for the satin stitch, but it will have the most smooth appearance when used with 6 strand cotton thread.
• When working along curves, slowly change the direction your stitches are going so that they will follow the shape. These stitches will slightly overlap each other at certain points, but you can still make them neat and uniform-looking when embroidered with care.
• Make sure that you mark the fabric before stitching so that you can make the edges of the satin stitches as neat as possible.
• Some people like to strip and condition their embroidery floss to make it easier to use and appear smoother. You can check out how to strip and condition embroidery floss here.

Want to learn even more embroidery stitches?

This workbook is NOT your usual stitch encyclopedia. Most embroidery books don’t actually show you how you can use each embroidery stitch and they also don’t come with many tips. This workbook is packed full of helpful information to make you a better, more confident stitcher.

It comes with:

• embroidery stitch tutorials
• helpful tips for each stitch that will maximize your learning and improve the way your embroidery looks
• fun, modern embroidery patterns you can use to learn the stitches with ease

Get The Workbook

Should You Use Satin Stitches For Large Areas?

Satin stitches are more suitable for smaller shapes and areas. You’ll want to avoid carrying your thread over too large of an area.

Making satin stitches that are super long may pucker the fabric or cause the stitches to not lay as neatly.

Don’t worry, though! There are a few stitches that work really well for covering larger areas of the fabric. Stitches such as the long and short stitch or couching are more ideal to use. The long and short stitch will have a smoother appearance that’s somewhat similar to a satin stitch while couching adds a bit more texture to the surface of the fabric.

Ways To Use the Satin Stitch

The satin stitch is great for pretty much any shape. It is a great to use for leaves or to fill in small areas such as the top of this flower pot (both are pictured above).

It’s also great to use for flower petals! Check out this tutorial for how to make a satin stitch flower.

With practice, you’ll get the hang of how to do the satin stitch. I guarantee you’ll be using this stitch in pretty much all embroideries you do!