1

What is
satin stitch embroidery?
From ancient times women from all countries engaged art of
embroidering. Hand crafted items were used on clothes, household
and religious items. Ability to craft in general, and to stitch in particular
helped women to gain respect of the society and made a good living
out of it. It was a well respected art and unique opportunity to bring
creativity to ordinary life.

Modern woman is no longer confined to housework.

She can be a very successful leader and professional on
one hand, and she can also dedicate her talents to her
family. Satin embroidery survived many centuries and it is
by no means redundant in modern life. In fact embroidery
opens unique opportunity to relief stress of modern life
and take a deep breath of fresh air from source of
physical and spiritual powers that is hidden in every
person’s subconscience.

Modem psychotherapy uses handcrafts in search

for new ways of restoring inner harmony. Satin stitching
is one of the best ways to relax and on another hand
spend time productively engaging in useful in and
modem form of art.

This style often referred to

differently such as “art embroidery”,
“satin stitch”, “free style
embroidery” and others. The names
might be different but they all mean
the same thing - beautiful and
universal stitching as form of art.
 2
It is easy!
Satin stitching is best compared with colour
pencils drawing. Every child tried that kind of draw-
ing and even though you might be called grown-up
now, and probably have your own kids, you must
have intuitive memories of how to fill sketch with
colour paint. This is one of the reasons why satin
stitch is so accessible, even to children.

Instead of colour pencils you will

need to use coloured threads and
needles, and instead of paper you will
use fabric. Design will need to be trans-
ferred to fabric and then “painted” with
threads. Everything is reall that simple!

Using ready made design sketch and step by step guides you will be able to
suprise your relatives and friends with great art masterpieces made by you!
 3

It`s the real life!

Its a myth that stitching takes lots of time and requires significant effort! Well, it might be true to a degree
for cross-stitching, however satin stitch is different!

You will not need any special fabrics to satin stitch on and primary skills can be easily acquired. Apart
from desire to stitch and accuracy with needle you will need to familiarise yourself with two main stitches.

A few of our designs are shown on the following pictures

Designs marked with 1 star are the most Designs sketches can be doen
accessible and recommended for beginners. very quickly.
These designs are meant to be done using

Designs with 2 stars will require According to our calculations

some experience, but even with these
only 2 types of stitches will allow you to achieve
great looking results. I need about 2 hours to
create this model.
satin stitching of a ready made step
by step design takes no more time
than cross-stitching the same model. The difference
in looks, especially at close distance, will be
unforgettable! This rose took me about 4 hours.
 4

Satin stitch Benefits

One of the major satin stitch
benefits is that designs are
universal and can be applied to
multiple items such as clothes of
various fabrics, portraits or
decorative patches for knitwear.

Stitched portraits will take first place

among in-house decorations, and fancy satin
stitched patches is in fashion every season!

Each and every of our designs fits well clothes and

portraits. You will be able to create great works one
after another! For example if you liked a particular
model you will be able to stitch it again and again,
changing fabrics, sizes and colour of threads. Once
your hands will get used to making nice and even
stitches automatically everything will become easy.

Have fun!
Buy our big white elephants
as no one else has got any bigger
than ours!!!

:)
 1

Embroidery Tools
Satin stitching requires the following tools: embroidery hoop or frame, needles
and markers for image transfer to fabric.

Stretch the fabric in an embroidery hoop or frame to

prevent puckering. The choice of hoop depends on your
preferences and budget. Generally small designs are
best done with hoops of 12-25 sm (~ 5'’ - 10'’) in
diameter. Hoops can be used for different types of
stitching and it helps to have a few of them with varying
diameters.
 2

There are a few types of

sitting frames with embroidery
hoops. Sitting frames with
round hoops (picture on the
left) are very convinient, as
they can be used under angle
that suits you, but more expen-
sive.

Large square frames (see

picture on the right) can be
used to create portraits,
pillows, decorative panels. If
you are a beginner then you
should find small hand hoops
sufficient.

Pets love to be close

when you engage in
handcraft activities. For
example my cat Misha
always finds way to get
comfortable near me.

This is when you

might appreciate value of
a sitting frame as it will
prevent your pet from
grabbing your work and
running away with it.
 3

Needles for Satin stitching

Satin stitching will require
needles of 3 - 5 sm (1.2'’ - 2.2'’)
size.Small needles can be used for
finishing strokes, medium size for
stitching of flowers and long needles
will help to create beautiful large
works such as portraits.
Needles are best kept in safe
place in a needle pillow kept far
away from kids and playful pets.

Transfer of design to fabric

Satin stitching is done on an outline of design. You can increase or de-
crease actual size of design as you wish using your favourite photocopying
machine. Once you happy with the size of the design you will need to create its
outline on material that you will use for stitching using special markers (transfer
pencils).
Some of the markers will allow you to remove design trace with wet piece
of fabric while the other will stay permanently so be careful. ou can also take
advantage of special hot iron transfer pencils that can be used to create trace
of the design.
 1

Embroidery threads
Ideal threads for satin stitching are
made by Bestex and Anchor. These
threads have wondeful colours and its
easy to stitch with them.

Vast majority of designs that you can pur-

chase from our website at www.anna-craft.com
were made using great threads by Bestex.

Anchor make threads that

are ideal for satin stitching.
Multiple shades of colour allow
to fit them easily with any type
of fabric.
Easyness of use of threads
made by Anchor make them
one of the top choices for satin
stitching.
 2

Another cotton threads

Threads made by the Chinese firm
whose logo is shown on the picture can
also be used with great success.
Those red flowers on our bright-yellow
robe with were made using these
threads.

Threads made by Indian

manufacturers are generally
dense and volumetric. Some
firms there make threads with
light colours.
 3

Some firms in India made threads with

very bright and saturated colours. This is
often a speciality of firms that product them.

You can see samples of some of those

threads with logos of firms producing them.

Cotton threads
with gradient color
Funny pictures and decorations will benefit from
threads that change colour. This makes even simple
designs very noticeable. The best manufacturers
of this type of threads are Bestex, Anchor and DMC.

This funny card did not require much effort. Bright

colours and smooth gradient colours were achieved
thanks to threads.
Similar designs made with these threads look great
and can be done with great ease even by a child!
 4
Metallic threads
Metallic threads can be used for stitching of
details and edges of designs. For example
the picture below shows how this thread
was used for stitching of flower stamens and
the picture on the right shows how threads
were used for edging.

Silk embroidery threads

Silk threads give great reflection. Thanks to silk even the most simplistic
stitching using Japanese style (see picture on the left) look mysteriously
beautiful.
If you can stitch using silk threads then you can use appropriately coloured
threads for stitching for all designs offered on our website. Bear in mind
however that some thin silk threads might not be durable and it is
recommended to use thicker silk threads when stitching on jeans fabric.
 1

The best fabrics

for satin stitch embroidery
Cross-stitching requires special fabric, but its not the case with satin stitch!

Any non-stretchable fabric can be used for

satin stitching! For example rich palette of
artificial satin provides great choice of colours
for stitching!
Synthetic satin looks great with jeans style of
clothes. Stitching with opaque cotton threads
you will create very interesting effect as if your
stitching is flying over blinking fabric.

Modern textile industry

manufacturers a lot of natural and
synthetic fabrics. Any fabric can be
used as the basis for satin stitch so
long as it does not have bright
colores
 2

Natural cotton, viscose, flax

Natural non-painted fabrics are very much like painter’s
canvas.You can stitch on it using any colours and it will look
great! Naturally looking colours are always in fashion!

A serviette made of unpainted natural flax can also

be made look great with satin stitch.

This small piece of funnily painted natural flax

benefits from satin stitched flowers, it begs to be at-
tached to some knitwear!

Serviettes made of unpainted natural flax

allow for your fantasy to run wild. You will need
to choose threads that stand out nicely on col-
oured background.
 3

Jeans fabrics? Oh! Yes!!!

Light jeans look great with threads with light coloured
Almost any kind of jeanswear is shades, dark jeans look great with bright coloured threads.
perfect for satin stitch! There is only one
major condition — the fabric should not
fade! You can satin stitch one of the
most simplistic designs and it will still
look great!

You can add any

decorative elements
to enhance your work
such as beads and
cockleshells. Natural
river pearls on jeans
look exclusive!
 4

Embroidery for Jeans

and other wear
This jeans top was stitched in asian style. You can buy
a detailed step by step guide of this design on our site:
www.anna-craft.com

Jeanswear provides great opportunities for satin

stitch. You can stich on ready made clothes like its
shown on pictures. The picture below shows top from
light jeans and stitching consisting of 3 parts. Teasing
top’s cut was decorated with natural river pearls.

Metallic threads can enhance any jeans fabric.
Gold or silver from the stitching will create exclusive
reflections on any clothes in dim light in the evening.
You can also stitch on a small piece of light jeans and then
attach it to your favourite knitwear. Your work will help
look your favourite clothes refreshed and modern. Most
models
that you can purchase on our website at www.anna-
craft.com can be used for these purposes.
 Border stitch
1

Your first step to embroidery world

 Do you think that satin stitching is much harder than other types of stitching?

This is not the case and this technique is accessible even to kids! Just have a look at
first steps that are no harder than what you had to do in school to learn how to write.

The very first stitch is called border stitch. It allows to create raised edge that is similar
to automated machine stitching. This type of stitch can be used for many purposes
starting from attaching decorative patches to elegant Japanese style stitching.

Accuracy is the most important skill you will need to learn. Try making stitches of the
same length, with the same angle and try to locate them as close to each other as
possible. Your hands will get used to making accurate stitches without thinking much
about it much like you write or type on a computer. Once you gain accuracy in border
stitch you will be able to create beautiful works of art!

This top made from atlas was stitched in

Japanese style with silk threads. It features
dual composition based on evening tone
threads with additional silver thread created
using only border stitch! It looks great but
technologically it was not that hard to do.

On the picture on the left you can see overall

view of the top, and on the picture below you
can see close up image of the composition.
Take my word for it — in the evening this
cloth looks beautiful!
 2

Many wonderful things

with single border stitch!

Border stitch can be used to

create any designs so long as they
don’t require smooth change of
colours. This technique is also useful
for small works. Have a look at these kids shorts -
all stitchings on it were done using border stitch.
Front and back pockets, funny fishes, letters and
underwater plants, stones and bubbles — all of
them look great but they did not take much effort
to do as well!

Designs made with border stitch are very simple

and at the same time they look. In the list of our prod-
ucts they are marked with 1 star denoting beginner’s skill
level. The main skill requirement is that your hand should get
used to making even stitches with the same angle.

If you started stitching only recently then try not to stress your
wrists and eyes. Soon you will learn how to stitch in relaxed
fashion and thats when you will start enjoying it!
 3

How to do the border stitch

Border stitch is often used to start and finish complex designs that require other techniques. Its
ability to create raised edges helps to create volumetric feel to your work. Simple designs can be
done using just border stitch.

Border stitch is done using single needle move. Needle should pierce fabric in two places as
shown on picture. If you want to create smart looking stitching then you will need to make stitches as
close to each other as you can. Have a look at the pictures below - border stitch there looks very
similar to machine made stitching, however handcraft is much better as its filled with its creators
charm and human warmth.

Our designs offer step by step instructions on

how to do border stitches. Have a look at the pic-
tures of a rose and a fish. You can clearly see how
needle pierces the fabric and thread forms smooth
line.

Have a look at steps required to stitch this rose and

you will understand how easy it actually is. You can
find more designs on our website at www.anna-
craft.com where you can find great designs tailored to
border stitch.
 4

Don`t worry, be happy!

Still not sure you can succeed at border stitch? Don’t believe you can move away from
cross stitch? Have a look at real results made by different people!

Example 1 stitching by a man!

This work was done by a young man. He is
25 years old and his is the geologist. His work
requires him to use big instruments that never
included needles! I asked him to try to stitch first
time in his life and have a look what he achieved.

On the left you can see his work in real life size,
and on the right you see it magnified 4 times. You
can see that all stitches are very accurate, and it was done by a man!
It takes very little time and training to have your hands doing stitches
automatically with the same angle and length.

Example 2 stitching by a woman!

This work was done by a 38 year old woman who never

stitched before. Although she did some basic needlework such
as to sew buttons to her son’s clothes, she never engaged in
needlecrafts.

On the magnified picture you can see that her stitches are nearly correct with
some slight errors in their angles. That’s a very good result for a first timer! On
the left you can see her work in its real life size.

Example 3 made by Anna!

And now have a look at my own work: can you spot
the difference? There aren’t many! Thanks to long practice
my hands are now used create stitches of the same length
and angle quickly and accurately, which is why my stitches
show more accurate representation of the design. You can
achieve same quality after good practice doing 2-3 works!

On our website at www.anna-craft.com you

can find a lot of models designed specifically for
border stitch!
 1

Satin inside stitch

Roadmap to perfect results
All satin stitch designs should be done step by step, from the first
to the last stitch. Inner parts of flowers, leafs and many other designs
requie special technique that we call inside satin stitch. Unlike border
stitch it requires two needle moves.

Have a look at steps required to stitch flower’s petal.

The first picture shows outline stitch, and following pictures
2-6 show progressive step by step filling of the petal with
inner stitches.
pic.1 pic.2 pic.3

pic.4 pic.5 pic.6

As soon as you master inner stitch you will

be able to stitch all our designs regardless of
their complexity!
 2

Beautiful examples

Example 1
The flowers design that you can
see on the atlas top was created
using satin stitch. Inside stitches
allowed to create natural flower look
and feel.

Example 2
Inside stitches in the following stylish
design helped to achieve smooth colour
changes. Despite being artificial the flower
looks alive and volumetric.
 3

What you can do?

So how can you create smooth colour changes?

The beauty of satin stitch is hidden in ability to achieve smooth colour changes
that make designs look alive. Border stitch is too edgy for this purpose,
however inside stitch fits this task of “filling with paint” perfectly.

Have a look how 8 flowers can be put on one design.

The picture on the left shows real life size and picture on the right shows the
same design but with 5 fold magnification.

How to do
inside satin stitch?
1 step
Inside stitch is done using two moves. The first
move is to have needly piercing fabric vertically as
indicated by point 1 on the picture.
3 step
In order to do next stitch you will need to pierce fabric
with needly from bottom to appear in top point 3. As you
can this point is not far from previous point 2. This is what
makes inside stitch to have all stitches close to each other.
3
2 step
Following first move the needle goes down vertically as
shown on point 2, and thats it — the first stitch is done!
Length of the stitch can be anything from 0.6 sm (0.2'’)
to 2 sm (0.8'’).
4step
The needle enters fabric again vertically at point 4,
which completes second stitch. As you can see point 4
is near point 1, so all you need to do now is to con-
tinue stitching from step 1 to 4!
 4

A few lines of inside stitch are shown on On the scheme you can see points at which the needle
the picture. Inside stitches can have different pierces fabric. After some practice you will learn how to
length. use inside stitch in away that covers the base fabric.

Progress of stitching
On our website at www.anna-craft.com you can buy detailed step by step designs with
magnified colour pictures showing finished design.Discover new world of satin stitch art to yourself
at www.anna-craft.com!
Have a look at how to do design with complexity level 2 (intermediate)
On the pictures you can see all steps necessary to stitch a great looking flower.

1 step 2 step 3 step

4 step 5 step 6 step - ready!

 1

Fine stitch
Your embroidery will be the best!
Sometimes it is necessary to stitch a few decorative details that will enhance
looks of the main design. This is done using fine stitch that is similar to border
stitch.

Example 1
Even our most accessible designs can
be significantly enhanced with fine stitch.
For example adding veins to rose leaves
will make them look alive.

Example 2
Fine stitching is also important for all
plants on this Chinese style design that wishes
long and successful life. You can see complex
weaving on plants’ stems.
 2

Example 3
Nature designs benefit from fine stitch as it
helps to underline its area, lightness and airness.
The following Chinese style stitching called
“Flowers and Butterflies” had only two finely
stitched elements - the antenna and then main
body. These two elements are sufficient to
enliven the whole composition, make it fine and
light.

On the following picture

magnified 3 times you can see
how thin parallel fine stitches
helped to form nice curve.

Any stitching can benefit

from selective application of
fine stitch to stress elements
that will make work look
complete and charming.
 3

Do you remember
border stitch?
If you remember border stitch is done using single
needle move. Stitches can be done under angle towards
the design or vertically depending on your choice. In all
cases border stitch creates volumetric line and create
accurate design edges.
The following pictures shows how its done in theory
and in real life.

Fine stitch is very similar!

Fine stitch is very similar to border stitch. Its also done using one needle move to create stitches
that are parallel to each other, the difference is that fine stitches usually have sharper angles.

On the picture above you can see

how to do fine stitch. On the right you
can see real life fine stitching magni-
fied 3 times.

You can see how needle creates

direction and angle for stitches
creating very thin line.
 4

Real stitching
Lets have a look how fine stitch allows to edge design. On the
picture you can see last stage in stitching design called “The
Rainbow Pear”. Magnified image below shows how fine stitch
helped to edge face of the pear.

Perfect result!
Fine stitch was also used to edge
eyes of the pear and small white dots -
reflections on pear’s eyes.

Just have a look at the end result -

simple stitch helped to make this kids
design look individual!
 5

Your first experience

Lets have a look how two different inexperienced people stitched
using fine stitch.

Example 1 stitching by a woman!

Have a look at the following example of a
woman who stitched first time in her life. Naturally
she made some mistakes such as chaotic direction
of stitches and their angles are not the same. If you
compare this work with our example the same pear you will see
the difference. Good looking fine stitch requires all stitches to
have same direction. This example shows how important to have
correct technique however given that it was done by an
inexperienced person we should not criticise it too much!

Example 2 stitching by a man!

The following example was made

by a man! The young man was not
very experienced but he tried really
hard to be accurate and maintain
correct direction of stitches... and here
is the result that looks practically as
good as original Anna’s work!

All our designs have step by step instructions,

recommendations and magnified images of all
elements to help even a beginner to create great
works of art! Our schemes will help you create
beautiful work from first attempt and impress your
relatives and friends! You can learn more about our
products on our web site at www.anna-craft.com