Stitch guide · thread painting
Your shading comes out in stripes, every row shows, colors jump instead of blending, and big areas look flat instead of like fur, feathers or petals.
Long and short stitch blends because each row splits back into the one before. Stagger the lengths, follow the direction, and change colors gradually. Here’s how, step by step, with fixes for the common problems.
Long and short stitch, also called soft shading or needle painting, fills a shape in staggered rows of straight stitches. The first row alternates long and short stitches; every row after that comes up through the stitches above, so the rows interlock and the joins disappear. That is what lets one color melt into the next.
It is the stitch behind thread painting: realistic flowers, birds, pet portraits and photo embroidery. Because no single stitch has to cross the whole shape, it covers wide areas that would be far too long for satin stitch. If you want to embroider a photo, this is the stitch you’ll use most.
Lightly mark lines across the shape following the stitch direction on your pattern: the way fur grows or a petal curves. They keep the angle right as the rows go on.
A split stitch outline along the outer edge gives the first row a crisp, slightly raised line to cover.
Start along the outer edge. Come up inside the shape and go down just over the outline, alternating long and short stitches, side by side and following the direction.
Bring the needle up through the ends of the stitches in the row before, splitting them, and make stitches of the same length. Vary where each one starts so the row ends don’t line up.
Start each new shade by splitting back into the previous color, and let a few stitches of each shade reach into the next. Blends look smoother with a middle shade between two far-apart colors.
On curves, fan the stitches a little each row and tuck in a shorter stitch where they spread apart, so the direction turns smoothly.
The last row ends at the far edge or tucks under the next shape. Use shorter stitches there to fill the gaps.
Our patterns use 2 strands of six-strand floss, a good balance of coverage and blending for pieces up to 7 inches. Many thread painters drop to 1 strand for small, detailed work such as eyes and fine fur, because finer thread blends more smoothly; 3 strands fills faster but shows rows more.
Splitting into the previous row is easier with fewer strands, too. More on choosing in how many strands of floss.
Row ends line up. Vary stitch lengths, start each stitch at a different point, and split further back into the row above.
The shades are too far apart or change all at once. Add an in-between shade, and let stitches of each color reach a little into the next.
Without guide lines the angle drifts. Draw a few direction lines first and check every few stitches against them.
Stitches fan apart around a bend. Tuck a shorter stitch into each gap so the coverage stays even.
Too many strands or stitches packed too tight. Use 1–2 strands, keep the fabric drum-tight, and let stitches lie flat without pulling.
Start with a split stitch outline and take the first row over it, so the edge stays smooth.
Long and short with the rows kept more regular, often worked in wool: a bolder, more graphic blend.
Rows of satin that start between the stitches above. It shades a little more simply, with a striped look.
Rows of split stitch side by side follow tight curves well and suit small areas of color.
Where a shape is narrow enough for one stitch to cross it, satin stitch is quicker and smoother.
When you turn a photo into a hand embroidery pattern, the generator gives wide areas long and short stitch, the thread-painting fill, and narrower fills satin. Every fill gets a stitch direction, shown as ticks on the PDF’s color and stitch guide, and the big fills come first in the stitching order.
Thread painting is easiest when you can see what you’re copying. The stitch tracker’s part card shows the pattern crop, the matching crop of your original photo and the direction on a clock face, so you can match texture and shading to the photo as you go. In the editor you can turn any shape’s direction, recolor a single color patch, and preview the whole piece in a realistic thread view.
See how your photo would shade: make a hand embroidery pattern from your photo. For the full project walkthrough, read how to embroider a photo, or browse all the embroidery stitches.
Satin stitch crosses a shape in one pass, so it suits narrow shapes. Long and short works in staggered rows that split into each other, so it covers any width and can blend colors.
Thread painting (or needle painting) is the style; long and short stitch, also called soft shading, is the stitch most thread painting is done in.
Vary stitch lengths, start each stitch at a different point, and come up through the stitches of the row above rather than below them.
One or two. Our patterns use two; one strand blends more finely on small, detailed work. See how many strands of floss.
Keep them comfortably short, well under the 1 cm (3/8 in) where stitches start to snag, and shorter still on tight curves and small details.
Change shade one row at a time, split back into the previous color, and let a few stitches of each shade reach into the next. Add a middle shade if two colors are far apart.
It takes practice to get smooth, but the moves are simple straight stitches. Start with one color on a leaf, then try two shades.
Making and editing a pattern is free with a StitchThis account. Saving it or downloading the PDF uses a pattern credit ($5.99 per pattern, or 5 for $20). Embroidery is included in Maker ($5.99/month) and in Craft Unlimited, with unlimited patterns.
