Mastering Basic Stitch Types: Understanding Satin and Tatami Stitches

Mastering Basic Stitch Types: Understanding Satin and Tatami Stitches

Embroidery is a blend of creativity and technique. Mastering the basics is key to creating beautiful designs. Satin Stitch and Tatami Stitch are two essential stitches to understand.

In this blog, we’ll explore these two essential stitch types, providing tips and best practices to help you use them effectively in your embroidery projects. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to refine your skills, understanding these stitches will give you the confidence to create designs that truly stand out.

Satin Stitch

A Staple in Embroidery

Satin Stitch is known for its smooth, glossy finish, perfect for adding a touch of elegance to borders, lettering, and detailed designs. It’s ideal for creating polished, high-quality looks in small to medium-sized areas but requires careful attention to stitch length.

IMAGE: The left column is Satin Stitch with Auto Split.

Key Features of Satin Stitch

Appearance: The Satin Stitch is known for its smooth, shiny, and high-density finish, gives your embroidery a refined, high-quality look.

Maximum Width: The ideal maximum width for a Satin Stitch is around 12mm. Wilcom suggests staying within 10 mm width. Going up to 15mm is possible, though there is a high risk of snagging.

Best Uses: This stitch is best suited for lettering, borders, and detailed designs that require a sleek, finished appearance.

Fabric Compatibility: The Satin Stitch works well on most fabrics, including knits and woven materials, but it is not recommended for large areas due to its nature and maximum length.

Techniques for Enhancing Satin Stitch

A common challenge with Satin Stitch is managing stitch length, as long stitches can lead to loose threads that snag. To solve this, you can use Auto Split or Custom Splits:

Auto Split: This feature breaks long stitches into shorter ones to prevent snagging, while randomly distributing needle penetrations to avoid visible lines.

Tip: Use 7 mm Auto Split to maintain the satin effect.

Custom Splits: This feature, available in the premium level of the software, allows you to add precise needle penetrations (User Defined Splits) to define your design. While it may increase the stitch count, it provides creative freedom while preserving the luxurious sheen of the Satin Stitch.

Tips for Using Satin Stitch

Stitch Length: Keep the stitch length short to achieve a tight, smooth finish. This is important to maintain the stitch’s glossy appearance.
Underlay: An appropriate underlay, such as an Edge Run, is essential for providing stability and preventing bleeding. The choice of underlay will vary depending on the fabric type.
Pull Compensation: This is a broad topic, but it’s important to understand how stitches pull inward on a curve and push outward at the end of a narrow shape.
Thread Tension: Adjust the thread tension carefully to avoid puckering and ensure a smooth surface.
Direction: Pay attention to the stitch angle to maintain uniformity.

Tatami Stitch

In contrast to the Satin Stitch, the Tatami Stitch is designed for filling large areas with a consistent, textured finish. It’s perfect for backgrounds and broader designs, offering a stable, flat surface.

Key Features:

Appearance: Flat and textured, with a lower thread density than Satin Stitch.

Best For: Large fills, backgrounds, and designs requiring less shine.

Fabric Suitability: Suitable for various fabrics. Can be used as a global underlay to stabilize many design objects.

Limitations: Less suitable for small, detailed areas due to its textured nature.

Stitch Values and Default Settings

Spacing: 0.38mm
Length: 4mm
Offset fraction: 0.25
Back Stitch: edge finish
Random: as a percentage

Tips: EmbroideryStudio Designing uses advanced stitch effects with Tatami to create beautiful color blending and smooth curves using features like Florentine and Liquid Effects.

This horse design uses dense Tatami and Satin Stitches

Advanced Tatami Techniques

Open Density: On large designs, an open stitch density can create an open textural feel with high coverage and low stitch count.

The Stamping Tool creates penetration holes in the tatami to create patterns.
Partition line is a setting that aligns the penetration holes to create texture.
The Random setting increases the jagged effect and is perfect for creating furry animals.
Offset Fraction: changes how each row is offset from the next.
Backstitch: This option adjusts how the tatami border is finished.

Add Detail with Offset Fraction

Effortlessly control needle offsets for more even distribution of needle points or to create unique patterned effects. This is achieved by adjusting offset fractions or partition lines. Purposefully use the penetration lines to define and enhance your design.

See how this technique is applied in the shell design to add definition and detail.

Both stitch types offer variations, and it’s easy to adjust stitch settings using EmbroideryStudio’s Object Properties docker to create unique effects.

Choosing the Right Stitch

There’s no right or wrong choice when selecting a stitch type—it depends on your design, creative expression, product, and fabric type.

In this example, Wilcom experts skillfully combine the light-reflecting qualities of satin and tatami stitch types with Madeira’s glossy and matt threads in tonal colors.

This combination of stitch techniques and thread textures enhances the light-reflective qualities, creating a striking design with added depth and dimension.