embroidery bird design

The Types of Stitches in Machine Embroidery and Digitizing

If you're interested in creating machine embroidery digitizing designs, you'll need to know a few things about the various stitches that are available. Here are the basic types of stitches: Straight Stitch: Used for outlines and straight lines, this type is often seen on clothing pockets or to outline the words in a design. Zigzag: These stitches can be used anywhere in your design, but they tend to look best when used around curved edges. Blending Threads: Choose this option if your design has multiple colors and you want them to blend well into each other.

Straight stitch

The straight stitch is the most basic and common stitch in machine embroidery. It is used to outline or fill small areas of fabric, such as acronyms or other text.

In digitization, this type of stitch is also referred to as a "solid" or "running" stitch because there are no gaps between them (which can make it look staccato).

Running stitch

Running stitches is a simple but effective way to add stitches to your design. It is an excellent choice for small detail work and can be used for embroidery or embroidery digitization services.

Running stitches involve sewing the same piece of fabric over and over, with small changes between each repetition. This provides fine details that are difficult or impossible to achieve by hand sewing alone (e.g., tiny stitches through several layers). The result is an image that looks like it was stitched together using many individual parts instead of one continuous thread - and perfectly aligned every time!


Zigzag stitch

Serrated stitches are used to create decorative lines. It can be used to applique, add detail to a design, or make waves in a design.

A stitch is also called a spool, warp, or weave because it creates an almost continuous line that looks like an object is being warped (or braided) into place on the fabric.

The easiest way to use this stitch is to place one pin vertically down on the top of the work piece and then move it from left to right until it reaches the other pin along its length.

Satin or column stitch

Satin stitches are used to create smooth lines and edges. It is also used on the right side of fabric, where it looks more even than other stitches.

We can make satin stitches in two ways:

It has an open circle motion (top) or a closed circle motion (bottom). This will depend on what you want to achieve with your project. In general, however, we recommend using only one pass knot per round. This prevents wear and tear at the ends of each line and ensures that there are no gaps between the lines when multiple parts are stitched together.

Filled stitch

The filling stitch is used to fill the background of the design. They can be used to create patterns or fill areas with solid colors. Filling stitches are usually straight or curved lines that touch each other at their ends and form a pattern in the fabric.

The most basic form of stuffed stitch consists of a long, continuous thread running through the fabric from top to bottom (or along its length). Easy for beginners, but versatile enough for experienced sewers!

Pin of design

A pattern stitch is a single shape, usually a letter or number. One can use them to create designs and monograms in embroidery.

Stitch of text

A text stitch is used to create a small embroidery area. You can use them to create names, phrases, or short messages in your design. Stitch types are often used with satin stitch to create monograms or borders around text.

Border stitching

Border stitches are used to provide decorative edges to your design. The border stitch can be straight, serrated, or satin. Border stitches can also be used to create scallops or swirls in embroidery designs.

Applique stitching

A decal stitch is used to add a design on top of the main design. They are also used in decals, a technique of stitching multiple parts together to create one-of-a-kind pieces. Nevertheless, if you want to digitize your logo, get a professional logo embroidery digitization service.

Butterfly/open butterfly back embroidery

A butterfly stitch is a single stitch that is open on one side and curved on both sides. It looks like a butterfly with open wings. This type of stitch is used for all types of fabrics, including knitwear and silk, as well as when making clothing.

The seam

This type of stitch is similar to open back embroidery, but with two lines meeting at an Angle instead of just one. You can do a single backstitch by attaching multiple layers to this type of stitch. Reverse embroidery is often used for decorative purposes, such as adding embroidery or decals to clothing or other items.

Running stitch

Running stitches usually consist of multiple stitches that are threaded through different fabrics at the same time to give them more stability or shape (e.g. hem). Running stitches makes it easier for you to sew threads quickly because they can be made up of any number of different types of stitches.


Here's why we use different types of stitches

When sewing, you may want to use a different stitch for each purpose.

Here's why:

You can sew several layers of fabric at a time using a straight needle made from a single needle.

You can create decorative stitches, such as zigzag and satin, also for quilting and embroidery.

You can use a running stitch or a negative stitch to adjust the tension on the machine to ensure the seams are perfectly aligned and in the correct position.

Different materials require different types of stitches.

You are creating a design that requires a specific type of stitch.

Your project needs a specific type of stitch to get the best look or feel.

We hope you've learned a lot about the different types of stitches used in machine embroidery and the stitches used in embroidery digitizers. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us! We are always here to help you.