Sewing Definitions — stitches, seams, quilting and sewing terms from Apparel Search
In sewing and embroidery, a satin stitch or damask stitch is a series of flat stitches used to completely cover a section of the background fabric. The stitches lie side by side without gaps, each spanning the shape being filled, so the finished area has the smooth, light-reflecting surface its name suggests. Narrow rows of satin stitch can be executed on a standard sewing machine using a zigzag stitch or a special satin stitch foot. Shapes are outlined first with back, split or chain stitch so the satin stitch covers the outline as well and keeps a smooth edge.
In sewing and embroidery, a satin stitch or damask stitch is a series of flat stitches that are used to completely cover a section of the background fabric.
Narrow rows of satin stitch can be executed on a standard sewing machine using a zigzag stitch or a special satin stitch foot. In order to maintain a smooth edge, shapes can be outlined with back, split or chain stitch before the entire shape including the outline is covered with satin stitch. Machine-made satin stitch is often used to outline and attach appliques to the ground fabric.
Learn more about stitching.
Learn about damask fabric.
Most embroidery stitches draw lines or textures on fabric; satin stitch replaces the fabric's surface altogether. Each stitch spans the full width of the shape being filled, from edge to edge, and the next stitch lies immediately beside it, sharing the same entry and exit lines, until no ground fabric shows at all. The threads all lie in the same direction, flat and parallel, and light reflects off them evenly, giving the filled area the sheen of satin fabric. Leaves, petals, monogram letters and small solid motifs are the stitch's natural subjects: shapes small enough that a single stitch can span them, and important enough to deserve the most polished finish hand embroidery offers.
The technique is unforgiving in specific, learnable ways. Stitches must be neither crowded nor spaced: crowding buckles the surface, spacing lets the ground grin through. Tension must be even, firm enough to lie flat but not so tight that the fabric puckers or the shape draws in at the waist. Long spans are the stitch's weakness, because a very long satin stitch snags and loosens in use; wide shapes are therefore divided, worked in sections, or filled instead with long and short stitch, the shaded relative of satin stitch. A padding of loosely spaced running stitches beneath the satin stitch, or an underlay of the same shape in a first layer of stitching, raises the surface into the softly domed finish of padded satin stitch, used for monograms and raised floral work.
The edge decides whether satin stitch looks professional. Worked directly on a drawn line, the edges of the filling tend to wobble, because each stitch ends wherever the needle happens to emerge. The standard solution is to outline the shape first with back, split or chain stitch, then cover the entire shape including the outline, so every satin stitch ends just outside a firm, even boundary and the silhouette stays crisp. On a sewing machine, satin stitch is a very close zigzag: the needle swings side to side while the feed advances only slightly, building the same solid bar of thread. A special satin stitch foot, with a groove underneath to ride over the built-up stitching, keeps the work feeding evenly.
Machine satin stitch found its great application in applique. The applied shape is first held by a line of straight stitching or temporary adhesive, then satin stitch is worked around its perimeter, covering the raw edge completely and attaching the shape decoratively in one operation. Lettering on uniforms, logos on caps and the edging of appliqued quilt blocks are all this technique. By hand or machine, satin stitch remains the reference filling stitch of embroidery: the stitch other fillings are compared with for smoothness, coverage and shine, and the one whose alternative name, damask stitch, records its long use on fine household linen.
Satin stitch, or damask stitch, is a series of flat stitches used to completely cover a section of background fabric. The stitches lie side by side to form a smooth, solid area of embroidery.
Shapes are outlined with back, split or chain stitch before filling, and the entire shape including the outline is then covered with satin stitch, so the edge stays smooth and defined.
Machine satin stitch, worked with a narrow zigzag or a satin stitch foot, is often used to outline and attach appliques to the ground fabric, covering the raw edge of the applied shape.