Satin stitch
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In
sewing Sewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a sewing needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fabr ...
and
embroidery Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...
, a satin stitch or damask stitch is a series of flat stitches that are used to completely cover a section of the background
fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
. Narrow rows of satin stitch can be executed on a standard
sewing machine A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies. Since the inv ...
using a
zigzag A zigzag is a pattern made up of small corners at variable angles, though constant within the zigzag, tracing a path between two parallel lines; it can be described as both jagged and fairly regular. In geometry, this pattern is described as a ...
stitch or a special satin stitch
foot The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...
. In order to maintain a smooth edge, shapes can be outlined with back, split or
chain stitch Chain stitch is a sewing and embroidery technique in which a series of looped stitches form a chain-like pattern. Chain stitch is an ancient craft – examples of surviving Chinese chain stitch embroidery worked in silk thread have been dated ...
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.


Geography

The satin stitch is a common form of needlework traditions worldwide; it is notable in
North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
,
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
,
Western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...
,
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
,
Indian Subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
, and the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
. Satin stitch is also characteristic of
Chinese embroidery Chinese embroidery refers to embroidery created by any of the cultures located in the area that makes up modern China. It is some of the oldest extant needlework. The four major regional styles of Chinese embroidery are Suzhou embroidery (Su Xiu ...
.


China

Satin stitch is one of the two main types of Chinese embroidery stitches along with the Pekin knots. It is the most frequently used form of stitches in Chinese embroidery. From the ancient times to the
Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
, the chain stitches were typically used in embroidery. However other forms of embroidery techniques existed including satin stitches which dates as early as the
Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
. The use of satin stitches became more frequent in the late Tang dynasty to the early
Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
. During the Tang dynasty, figural imagery, which was partially influenced by the growth of Buddhist imagery, first appeared; this contributed to the decline of chain stitches as satin stitches could provide better render scenes of Buddhist donor figures. Satin stitches then became the popular embroidery technique later on.


Indian Subcontinent

Satin stitch used in
Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
is a variation of the Chinese Satin stitch which originated from
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.


Variants

Variants of the satin stitch include: * Bourdon stitch - a tightly spaced, decorative stitch typically used for
monogram A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbols or logos. A series o ...
s and decorative purposes. * Brick stitch, in which alternate rows of satin stitches are offset by half the stitch length. Worked in several related colors, brick stitch allows stepped shading. (
Brick stitch Brick Stitch, also known as the Cheyenne Stitch or Comanche Stitch, is a bead weaving stitch in which individual beads are stacked horizontally in the same pattern as bricks are stacked in a wall. The technique has been used by Native American ...
is also the name of a
beadwork Beadwork is the art or craft of attaching beads to one another by stringing them onto a thread or thin wire with a sewing or beading needle or sewing them to cloth. Beads are produced in a diverse range of materials, shapes, and sizes, and vary b ...
technique.) * Encroaching satin stitch, in which the top of each row of stitches is set between the bottom of the stitches on the previous row. * Long-and-short stitch, used for fine shading; in the first row of satin stitches, every other stitch is half the length of its neighbors. Subsequent rows in related colors are all of the same length. * Padded satin stitch, in which shapes are filled with rows of small
running stitch The straight or running stitch is the basic stitch in hand-sewing and embroidery, on which all other forms of sewing are based. The stitch is worked by passing the needle in and out of the fabric at a regular distance. All other stitches are ...
es which are then covered with satin stitches.''Complete Guide to Needlework'', p. 49


Thread

Satin stitch is frequently made with
embroidery thread Embroidery thread is yarn that is manufactured or hand-spun specifically for embroidery and other forms of needlework. Embroidery thread often differs widely, coming in many different fiber types, colors and weights. Threads for hand embroidery i ...
, which has less twist than standard sewing thread. This gives a more uniform effect, with the individual threads' filaments merging. While good sewing threads produce acceptable satin stitch, low quality threads usually do not sit straight, and produce an uneven result. The colour of each thread usually does not matter.


Stitch gallery

Image:Satin stitch.gif, Satin stitch Image:Embroidered letters HB.jpg, Bourdon stitch Image:Brick stitch shading.gif, Brick stitch Image:Encroachng satin stitch.jpg, Encroaching satin stitch Image:Long-and-short-stitch.gif, Long-and-short stitch


See also

*
Embroidery stitch In everyday language, a stitch in the context of embroidery or hand-sewing is defined as the movement of the embroidery needle from the back of the fibre to the front side and back to the back side. The thread stroke on the front side produced b ...
*
Chinese embroidery Chinese embroidery refers to embroidery created by any of the cultures located in the area that makes up modern China. It is some of the oldest extant needlework. The four major regional styles of Chinese embroidery are Suzhou embroidery (Su Xiu ...


Notes


References

* Caulfield, S.F.A., and B.C. Saward, ''The Dictionary of Needlework'', 1885. * Christie, Grace (Mrs. Archibald H.): ''Embroidery and Tapestry Weaving'', London, John Hogg, 1912; e-text a
Project Gutenberg
*Reader's Digest. ''Complete Guide to Needlework''. The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. (March 1992). {{Authority control Embroidery stitches