One of the ancient labor-intensive types of needlework is satin stitch embroidery! For beginning craftswomen, special various kits have been created for working in this technique, and entire encyclopedias have been written on its features. And still professionals appear who develop new stitches and entire embroidery technologies.
Brief characteristics of the surface
Let's start getting acquainted with this type of needlework from the very basics. You can embroider with satin stitch anything that comes to hand: clothes, bed linen, tablecloths, scarves, paintings, bags, bookmarks, magnets. Compared to the cross, the patterns look more delicate and elegant.
Many people believe that embroidery with artistic satin stitch is the simplest needlework. What's difficult? I drew a design on the fabric, made it and sewed it along the contour... But it’s not so simple.
Like other areas of needlework, it has several varieties: double-sided, one-sided, Russian, Poltava, Vladimir, artistic, satin, white. Each of the directions has its own characteristics.
Beginning craftswomen do not need to memorize all the stitches. It is enough to learn a couple of stitches, which will be useful for embroidering landscapes and floral patterns. But it is best to start with a small pattern, since the essence of satin stitch embroidery is even stitches that fit tightly together.
Types of satin embroidery
There are several most popular areas of this needlework.
- Satin smooth surface. For it, thin threads are taken and embroidered with small, tight-fitting stitches that start from the middle of the previous row. As a result, the face of the work resembles a smooth, solid pattern, and the back is “dotted” with short paths.
- Artistic satin stitch embroidery. This is not an easy technique for beginners. In this technology, the design is embroidered using flat oblique satin stitch without covering. Its peculiarity is the use of different colors. This is where the craftswoman’s skill in mixing thread tones is important in order to create a smooth transition from one shade to another.
- Russian smooth surface. In this technique, stitches are laid in two directions with straight vertical or horizontal stitches 5-7 mm long. Moreover, they are characterized by a distance of two threads between “neighbors”. When the embroidery goes in the opposite direction, these gaps are carefully sewn up.
- White embroidery. This pattern is made only with white threads in several stages: first, the outline is laid forward with a needle, the flooring is made, then stitches are embroidered, tightly adjacent to each other.
Satin embroidery: lessons for beginners
To work, you need to prepare material, needles, tracing paper, pencil, threads. You can take any fabric depending on your purposes. For embroidering bed linen, choose traditional calico, satin, poplin, and silk. Clothes can be embroidered on any fabric, from denim to wool. For paintings, choose a material with a tight weave.
In addition to the fabric, pay special attention to the needles. Embroider delicate material with thin needles, as thick ones will deform the surface, leave holes and be difficult to pass through the embroidery. Purchase thick needles for thick fabric for embroidering outerwear, bags, and hats. Your “tools” should be smooth and have a sharp end.
For embroidery, prepare a hoop with a fastening that will secure the fabric tightly. Do not embroider light-colored material on metal fasteners as they leave gray marks. The best option is wooden picture frames and hoops for small embroideries.
Continuing the topic of materials
Any thread is suitable for satin stitching, from thin silk to thick wool. The thinner the thread, the more delicate the fabric should be. Although on some designer models this rule is violated. In any case, try sewing a small element on the fabric with threads that differ in brand and fold.
Chinese craftswomen prefer Russian needlewomen to choose regular floss. For three-dimensional paintings, wool and cotton are used. Buy sharp scissors so that there are no “tails” left when cutting. Any craft store will help you select tracing paper and a marker that disappears on the fabric.
Patterns for satin stitch embroidery can be found in magazines, bought in a store, or copied from any postcard. It is cheaper to purchase the material separately, but some craftswomen prefer to immediately buy a ready-made set, where the threads are selected according to color, instructions for stitches and a base are given. We're done with the main material. You can also pay attention to the thread organizer, seam ripper, awl and thimble.
Satin embroidery for beginners: preparatory stage
Once you have decided on the topic and purchased all the material, proceed to the preparatory stage. Process the edges of the fabric as follows:
- in the case of embroidering pictures, the edges can be smeared with glue;
- handkerchiefs, napkins and other small works can be indicated by pulling several threads;
- If you have a sewing machine, use an overlocker to trim all the edges of the fabric.
Now wash, dry and iron the workpiece. Transfer the drawing onto tracing paper and place it on the fabric, pinning it with needles. Using a regular forward stitch, use a needle and contrasting thread to follow all the lines of the design. Remove the tracing paper.
Place the material on a hoop or frame and start embroidering with satin stitch. Do not forget that securing the thread at the beginning and end of the work is almost the same as with cross stitch. That is, the thread can be secured with a loop, if folding allows. In one fold, the floss is secured on the wrong side with the help of a small cross, between which the tail of the thread is hidden. At the end of the work, the floss is hidden on the wrong side under the embroidered pattern or laid with 3-4 stitches on the front side, then covered with the next layer of thread.
Types of seams
Satin embroidery technology involves the use of several seams.
"Double" patterns
The following technique is characterized by a combination of two seams. This is necessary to achieve voluminous satin stitch embroidery. Flowers, leaves and other patterns are made using this technology.
"Single" patterns
These are the most common patterns. At first, satin stitch embroidery may seem complicated for beginners, but with practice everything will become clear.
Basic rules of embroidery
- Draw the outline of all the lines.
- Divide complex elements into several parts (with lines). For example, a flat narrow sheet is embroidered in three stages: the left side, then the right side and the middle line.
- Flowers are embroidered from the edges to the center.
- The leaves are embroidered in the direction of the veins from the edge to the center.
- To create volume in the pattern, several techniques are used: double-sided satin stitch, when both the back and front sides are stitched, flooring, a combination of horizontal and vertical close-fitting stitches (in this case, the top seam extends beyond the outline).
- It is better to use color mixing with uneven stitches, when the beginning of a new row begins from the middle of the previous one. This is the most difficult and interesting thing that characterizes satin stitch embroidery.
- For beginners, small-sized paintings will be easier to embroider, and they will gain experience faster. There is no need to buy complex expensive works; 10x15 cm embroidery with a small plot is enough (price about 200 rubles).
At first glance, satin stitch embroidery seems like a complicated technique, but try it with small motifs. You won’t even notice how you learn to “draw” with a needle!
Delicate daisies made with voluminous embroidery will surprise you with their simplicity and ease of execution. The chamomile flower can be captured in different ways. For example, using voluminous embroidery, which will make the flower more realistic.
Maiden flower - chamomile
You can capture the image of a chamomile in different ways. This time I offer voluminous embroidery.
We will need the following:
- Fabric - the basis for embroidery
- Hoop
- Embroidery threads in white, yellow and green
- Embroidery needle
- Scissors
- Pencil
Note.
Where does any embroidery begin?
Of course, from the diagram.
Therefore, to begin with, look at several patterns that you can use to embroider flowers. Or take any of your own. Transfer the selected pattern onto the fabric.
Then we stretch the fabric onto the hoop and start embroidering.
The petals of the chamomile will be elongated loops. Each of them must be secured with an additional stitch so that it does not “run away”. The center of the flower is made with an interesting stitch called a “French knot”. These small knots need to fill the entire center.
The petal loops can be cut with scissors or left as is.
Next we make the second and then the third flower. We will embroider the leaves using a satin stitch and use a chain stitch to make the stems.
You won’t notice how quickly a meadow of delicate daisies will bloom under your light hands.
This method can be used for embroidering different colors. For example, if you take the color blue, you get cornflowers, and if you take orange, you get marigolds.
Have a good mood! And let there always be a place for flowers in your home!
Satin stitch embroideries are interesting and varied. Let's decorate the product together and it will become unique. You can embroider anything: tablecloths, pillows, clothes, decorations, towels, napkins, scarves, and so on. For beginners, we can recommend simple satin stitch embroidery. It's better to start with a small pattern. It is important to understand that the essence of this embroidery is even stitches that fit close and very tightly to each other.
Satin embroidery can be different: double-sided and one-sided, straight and oblique. Techniques and types of embroidery: simple, artistic, convex satin stitch, cut-out, lined, volumetric, satin, white, Vladimir, Russian, Poltava.
If you want to learn satin stitch embroidery, you don't have to memorize all the stitches and techniques right away. You can start with a couple of stitches, which are useful for embroidering flowers, butterflies, small drawings, and animal figures.
Embroidery is possible on different fabrics. Neither the weave, nor the color, nor the composition matter. It all depends on the threads you use to sew. If you took floss threads for work, then it is better to take cotton fabric: cotton, linen, burlap. If the threads are silk, thin cambric, satin or silk will work well. Thick fabrics are suitable for Iris threads.
What will you need for work? You will need a needle. Choose the right needle for the job. The choice of needle depends on the fabric and threads, and we also take into account the pattern. The finer the needle, the more professional your work will look. Next, we use hoops or frames for work, whichever you prefer. On the hoop, the fabric is more stretched, which is important for the design and the comfort of the embroiderer.
You will also need small scissors, a thimble and carbon and tissue paper. For those who know how to draw, it’s easier; you can simply draw a design on the fabric with a pencil.
If you don't have the ability to draw, use carbon paper. To do this, you need to put carbon paper on the fabric, and place a drawing printed on the printer on top. We pin this structure with pins and trace it along the contour. Let's take everything apart and get to work.
Different techniques can be used in different parts of our embroidery. For example, large details can be decorated with long stitches, and narrow stripes and small details can be embroidered with short small seams. The techniques are often confused with types of embroidery. You need to remember that one type of embroidery can be done using different techniques.
Let's start with a straight stitch. For a novice craftswoman, it will be enough to recognize this seam in order to do the simplest work. The name of the simple type comes from the straight stitch. The stitch length varies, from 1 mm to 7-8 mm. For example, in white satin stitch, this stitch is used to outline the outline of the pattern.
You can embroider large details and contours with a straight seam. It is not suitable for small parts. It is also used to fill the inside of the part.
Straight stitch can be done at any angle. Open herringbone stitches are used to embroider leaves, a fern stitch is used to sew fragile long stems, and a stem stitch creates a smooth, flawless line. The split stitch is needed for contour lines.
Wedge and chevron stitches can be sewn on the sides of the design, filling in the empty space. Dotted in finished form looks like a coffee bean; the grain is used for a chiaroscuro effect inside the part.
Satin stitches are the next most difficult stage of embroidery. The satin surface is used to give the design subtle shading transitions. Using silk threads, you can embroider landscapes, portraits, and genre scenes. This type of surface is called artistic.
Varieties of satin stitch: shadow, fastened, one-sided, double-sided, slotted, white, counted, flat and convex.
A convex surface is needed to give the design additional relief. The flooring is embroidered with a simple satin stitch, and then worked in the opposite direction. We increase the height of the part and make it convex and embossed.
The herringbone stitch fulfills the leaf motif. It is performed with diagonal stitches close to each other.
Crossed stitches are made with crossed threads. This technique can be used to highlight the center of a leaf or the middle of another shape.
The raised herringbone stitch is very beautiful; diagonal crossing stitches overlap each other. Embroider the center of the sheet using the Romanian stitch.
Woven satin stitch consists of groups of stitches embroidered in clear rows. The emphasis is on chiaroscuro. If you have already mastered the previous techniques a little, you can try working with shadow stitch. It helps to create an interesting and beautiful transition of color from one to another on the product. This transition is called a gradient.
Common stitches. Chinese knots subtly highlight and complete the design. We often see the rococo stitch inside floral arrangements.
We embroider iris step by step using the simple satin stitch technique.
To work you will need:
- Silk threads: dark purple, violet, white, orange and green.
- Fabric (linen, chiffon, nylon, cambric, and so on). There's chiffon here.
- Hoop.
- Scissors.
- Thin needle.
Our work is done on chiffon, so there is no need for tracing paper or carbon paper. We place the fabric on the drawing, secure it with pins and draw on the fabric with a pencil or pen.
This shows how to embroider one flower, but if you wish, you can embroider the entire composition. We will embroider with silk using one thread.
We decorate the petals of the lower part of the iris with a dark purple color. Leave space between stitches for white.
Let's start embroidering the next petal. First, we will embroider the fold of the iris petal.
- embroidery fabric;
- hoop;
- green floss;
- needle;
- felt.
Place them on a piece of felt, trace and cut out. If you know how to draw, then apply the design directly to the felt. Cut out the blanks. Ideally, the felt will be green.
Secure the felt to the drawing by filling the outline of the leaf. Secure it with tiny stitches along the outline in several places.
Using one or two strands of green silk or cotton thread, cover the felt as follows: Start at the tip of the sheet. Make one lazy daisy stitch to form a neat pointed tip.
Then continue stitching, placing stitches close together to cover the felt.
From the first stitch, lay the thread at an angle. Inject the needle on the outside of the leaf outside the felt. This will help you form a neat edge. See the picture below as a guide. Pay attention to how the felt is secured along the contour.
Now let's add a central vein on the leaf. Take two strands of floss and sew a chain stitch from the top point to the middle. Then simply pull the thread to the end of the sheet and bring the needle down.
Then extend the stem with a freestanding stitch, see photo below. Also use two threads of the same green color.
Now let's make the leaf stalk more dense. 1. Make a long straight stitch and form a stem. 2. Next, we wind the main thread along the entire length. The loops should be laid out on top of the thread, as if covering it. Reach the end, bring the needle to the wrong side. Tie a knot and cut the thread.
Every person has his own hobby. An activity that can relax you, distract you from everyday activities, from various thoughts and simply give yourself a rest. Today I would like to draw your attention to a beautiful type of needlework, like satin embroidery for a beginning needlewoman. Satin embroidery is creativity and one of the wonderful activities when you feel joy and see the result of the creation of your hands, when, after completing the next project, a butterfly sitting on a flower “flies out”, or maybe a beautiful bird (as in the first photo). And finally, feel proud of yourself and your creations!
Embroidery using the satin stitch technique has always helped to add a touch of sophistication to the home - extraordinary home textiles, original interior items, toys for small children, clothes, linen and many other things that will decorate any room. Satin embroidery when finishing clothes will be a unique individual highlight in any woman’s wardrobe.
There are many types of satin stitch embroidery, but we will look at the most necessary types of stitches for a beginning needlewoman to try her hand at this undoubtedly interesting satin stitch embroidery technique.
In order to begin this exciting process of creating your next masterpiece, you will need the following items: a hoop, canvas, a drawn drawing of the future project on canvas, floss, scissors, and so on.
Satin embroidery this is the earliest technique. It was used in ancient times in the east. Therefore, another name for this technique is damask embroidery - a series of flat stitches that completely fill the free contour of the pattern, which is applied to canvas, fabric and secured on a hoop for further satin stitch embroidery.
Sketches of drawings for colored artistic satin stitch are usually black and white. This is done so that the embroiderer can choose a color palette to her own taste. This technique uses various types of seams and techniques.
Let's look at the basic techniques of satin stitch embroidery.
Types of seams:
1. Stem seam - consists of stitches that partially overlap each other, and looks like a lace. In plant patterns, they are most often used to embroider stems or individual lines, and also to trim the contours of patterns. It is convenient to sew the seam from bottom to top or from left to right. The needle with the working thread is directed back, as when making a “back needle” seam, but it comes out to the front side of the fabric approximately in the middle of the last stitch, while the thread always lies on one side of the already embroidered stitches, either to the left or to the right. The wrong side of the stem seam coincides with the “back needle” seam.
2. Buttonhole stitch- performed in the direction from left to right by moving the needle from above. The thread is brought to the front side at the bottom point of the seam, then a stitch is made with a needle in the direction from top to bottom, the thread remains under the needle and the working thread is tightened until a loop is formed. The stitches of the seam can be placed very closely or at some distance from each other. When covering the edge, to achieve greater relief and strength, a flooring is first laid under it. Seam stitches can be of different lengths. You can use a buttonhole stitch to embroider individual small elements, such as leaves or flowers.
3. Narrow satin stitch seam is performed in 2 steps: the first stage - with a “forward needle” seam from right to left, a line of satin roller (straight or curved) is outlined, the second stage - small and frequent vertical or inclined stitches of the same length are laid in the direction from left to right. This stitch is used for embroidering fine lines of a design, as well as for finishing the edges of an outline product, as well as for adding volume.
4. Chain stitch - chain stitch. This is a blind one-sided seam, it consists of a number of loops coming out of one another, and on the front side it resembles a crocheted chain. It is embroidered from top to bottom, from right to left and along the contour of the design. Sequence of stitching: the thread is brought to the front side at the first point and pulled down, holding it with the thumb of the left hand. Then, from the second point to the third point, moving the needle from top to bottom, make a stitch and tighten the thread, forming the first loop. Subsequent loops are made in the same way, thus forming a “chain” seam. They can be used to embroider both straight and curved contours.
5. Smooth stitch - used to fill large areas of a pattern. Consists of long stitches and one or more short cross stitches that attach the long stitches to the fabric. It is better to do a long stitch only on the front side. You can also fill the entire area of the pattern with long stitches first, and then place short cross or bias stitches on top of them.
6. Surface with flooring - It is carried out on a pre-laid flooring, made with thicker threads, which makes the embroidery more convex and embossed. The sequence of making a convex satin stitch is as follows: the contours of the pattern are sewn with a “forward needle” seam, then the flooring is laid in one or two layers (for greater convexity), and then the embroidery is done in the direction opposite to the flooring. Patterns with a wavy line of contours are embroidered using bias stitch. In this case, it is imperative to ensure that the satin stitches fit exactly along the contour and fit tightly to each other. In embossed surfaces, so-called crumpet balls are often used as elements. The thread is brought out to the front side, 2-3 turns of the thread are made with the left hand, and onto the needle and the needle is brought out to the wrong side next to the first puncture. In this case, the thread on the needle must be held with the finger of your left hand until a tight knot forms on the fabric.
7. Flat surface - It is double-sided and is used in floral patterns for embroidering wide and narrow patterns. The needle from the wrong side runs across the entire width of the pattern, the stitches fit tightly together (Fig. The direction of the stitches can be straight or oblique. Performed without flooring. In large details, satin stitches are arranged according to the shape of the pattern: in leaves - from the edge to the middle, in the direction of the veins, in flower petals - from the edge to the center.
8. Shadow surface - uh This satin stitch is made along a free contour using threads of different colors. At the same time, there is no clear boundary between the colors, and the transition from one thread tone to another is achieved using stitches of different lengths, included in one another. This technique achieves the so-called shadow effect. Sequence of shadow stitching. Transfer the pattern to the fabric and apply a conditional division according to the tones of the threads. To do this, draw curved lines with a pencil, which serve as the boundary of the transition of one color to another. Moreover, you need to stick the needle not exactly along these lines, but above and below. The stitches need to be applied tightly one to the other, and placed in a direction that depends on the pattern. So, if it is a flower petal, then in the direction of the center of the flower, if it is a leaf, then in the direction of the central vein, and so on. Therefore, to simplify the work, you can use a pencil to draw dashed lines on the fabric that indicate the direction of the stitches.
Sequence of making a flower petal
The petal is divided into 3-4 parts and embroidery begins from the middle of the upper part. Having finished the right half, the needle and thread are passed along the petal from the front side to the left edge of the petal and the left half is embroidered. When the embroidery of the upper part of the petal is completed, the thread is cut and in the same way, from the middle, they begin to embroider the second part of the petal with a thread of a different color. So that the second tone of threads enters into the first gradually, it is performed by either lengthening or shortening the stitches (the stitches of the second part are laid between the stitches of the first part). Having completed the right half, the needle is moved to the beginning of the left half and performed in the same way. The rest of the parts are done in exactly the same way. The transition of colors in a petal is from lighter (topmost) to darker (bottom).
Sequence of making a leaf with a vein in the middle
Embroider the leaf using oblique satin stitch, placing the stitches towards the vein. First perform the right, then the left half of the leaf. First, each half of the leaf must be divided into 2-4 parts (according to the number of colors). Embroidery begins from the outermost (lightest) part in the direction from top to bottom. The stitches along the edges are shorter and longer towards the center of the leaf. The second and third parts are also embroidered from top to bottom, only the color of the threads is darker. The second (left) half of the leaf is embroidered in the same way, only in the direction from bottom to top and from the central (darker) part to the outer (lighter) part.
Knowing these basics of satin stitch embroidery techniques, you can safely begin a project to start a small satin stitch embroidery pattern.
There are also other techniques for embroidering with satin stitch: back stitch, twisted knot, French knot, Vladimir edge stitch, slotted stitch, satin stitch, and so on.