12 Creative And Fun Embroidery Fill Stitches

If you’ve been embroidering for even a small amount of time, you’ve probably noticed that you have a handful of stitches that have become your go-to’s. This isn’t a bad thing, but it’s always fun to try and get out of your comfort zone by practicing and using stitches you don’t ordinarily use. Today I’m sharing 12 creative and fun embroidery fill stitches that you can (and should!) try out in your next project. You never know, maybe one will become your new favorite!

Fly Stitch

The fly stitch, when stacked on top of one another, is an interesting stitch to use to fill in an area. It makes for a great leaf shape, since the stitch forms a line down the center similar to the center vein of leaves.

Satin Stitch

The satin stitch is by far one of the most common fill stitches to use. It has a smooth finished appearance and it’s really easy to do.

Closed Blanket Stitch

The closed blanket stitch is worked with each stitch directly beside one another. It creates an interesting texture, and it can be used to fill in more than just square or rectangle shapes. You can also work this stitch in a circle as well.

Fishbone

The fishbone stitch is yet another embroidery stitch that works really well for filling in shapes such as leaves. The stitches are worked at a diagonal, and intersect one another, forming a “v” or seam line down the middle of whatever shape you want to fill in.

Long and Short Stitch

The long and short stitch is another common fill stitch. It’s great for filling in large shapes, because you can keep the stitches relatively short and neat instead of carrying the thread across a large area of the fabric. It’s also the ideal stitch to use for blending different colors of thread together.

Basket Weave

The basket weave stitch looks like a woven basket or lattice and is the perfect fill stitch to add texture into an area.

French Knot

French knots are used a lot for small accents and flowers, but don’t forget about them as a fill stitch. Make them as large or small as you’d like. It takes awhile to fill in shapes with them, but they add a nice fluffy texture that is well worth it in the end.

Brick Stitch

The brick stitch is basically rows of alternating back stitches. It is a neat way to complete any shape and the collections of stitches form somewhat of a repeating pattern.

Couching

There are a variety of ways to do couching stitches, and each one looks so interesting. The commonality with each one of these stitches is that there are laid threads and then anchor threads, or stitches that secure the laid threads to the fabric. This means you can use interesting materials such as ribbon or thicker yarns too!

Woven Wheel

The woven wheel is a fill stitch that is worked around a circle. It is one of the most 3-dimensional of all of the stitches featured in this post.

Detached Buttonhole Stitch

The detached buttonhole stitch has a lattice-like appearance. This stitch can be stitched closer together to more solidly fill in a shape, or farther apart so there are visible spaces in between the stitches. It is one that would add a beautiful and decorative touch to any embroidery.

Cretan Stitch

The cretan stitch looks similar to a ladder to me. It can be worked with the stitches spaced out or close together, depending on how dense you’d like to fill in an area.