For last week’s technique of the week, we started our embroidery series with an introduction to the back stitch. This week, we are going to keep with our embroidery obsession and show off the satin stitch! This embroidery technique uses a series of flat stitches (short or long depending on your motif) to completely cover a section of your fabric or knitting. This makes the satin stitch a great technique for when you need to fill in an area of a motif that is already outlined with the back stitch or crochet chain stitch.

    
Here is Kerin’s finished motif that shows off the satin stitch to fill in the petals.

To help you get started, check out our new video tutorial that shows you how to do the satin stitch!

Depending on what yarn you are using, you can really vary what the look of satin stitch will be like. In the video, we used a worsted weight yarn, which gives the petals of the flower done in satin stitch a nice, almost puffy quality (which I love!). You can also use a finer gauge yarn like lace weight and carefully stitch each loop directly side-by-side to get a smoother, more delicate finish.

Just remember that whenever you are embroidering your knitting or crochet projects, don’t pull your stitches too tight. Keep in mind the stretch, drape, and purpose of your project’s fabric and try to match the tension of the embroidery stitch to it. For example, if you pull your stitches too tightly when working the satin stitch, chances are it will begin to pucker and warp. And we want our embroidery to beautify, not distort our precious hand knit and crocheted projects!

You can find more Knit Picks Tutorials on embroidery here:
embroidery tutorials

Have you embellished your knitting or crochet with a bit of embroidery? I’d love to hear your ideas!