How to work satin stitch
Straight stitches laid side by side to fill a shape with smooth, shiny colour.
Step by step
- Outline the shape with split stitch: make a small straight stitch, then come up through the middle of it and repeat.
- Start your satin stitches in the middle of the shape so you can set the angle.
- Come up just outside the outline on one side and go down just outside it on the other.
- Lay the next stitch right beside the first, with no fabric showing in between.
- Work out to one edge, then go back to the middle and work out to the other.
- For a raised look, first pad the shape with rows of split stitch, then cover it with satin stitch.
Pinny's tip
Keep satin stitches short. For big shapes use long and short stitch instead, or the stitches snag.
Keep satin stitches short. For big shapes use long and short stitch instead, or the stitches snag.
Watch
How To Perfect Your Satin Stitch (10:59)
By Cassandra Dias Embroidery · Open on YouTube
Chosen from its title and channel: a 10-minute video from Cassandra Dias Embroidery on the same topic as this guide. Embedded from YouTube with credit; we don't host it. It only loads when you press play.
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Sources
All checked November 1, 2026. We read these; we did not test the products ourselves.