Stitch Your Dogby Make It Yours

Stitch guide · Fills

How to do a fishbone stitch

Fishbone stitch fills a leaf shape with slanted stitches worked alternately from each side, each one crossing the center line and overlapping the last. The overlaps make a neat center vein down the middle. Use it for leaves, feathers and small pointed shapes. It's worked from the tip of the shape down to the base.

  • Level Easy

Use it in a pet portrait for…

  • Leaves in a wreath around the portrait, or a sprig tucked into the collar.
  • A feather or a leaf-shaped tag.
  • A small leafy border under your dog's name.

How to do it, step by step

Fishbone stitch: where the needle goesUp at 1 at the tip and down at 2: a short stitch down the center line. Come up at 3 on the left edge and go down at 4, just across the center, over the end of the first stitch. The dashed stitch comes in from the right edge the same way, over the end of the last one. Keep alternating, left then right, to the base.1234

Up at 1 at the tip and down at 2: a short stitch down the center line. Come up at 3 on the left edge and go down at 4, just across the center, over the end of the first stitch. The dashed stitch comes in from the right edge the same way, over the end of the last one. Keep alternating, left then right, to the base.

Odd numbers: come up from the back Even numbers: go down Dashed: the next stitch

  1. Draw the leaf with a line down its center. Come up at the tip, on the center line, and go down a short way along it. That small straight stitch starts the vein.
  2. Come up on the left edge of the leaf, close to that first stitch.
  3. Go down just across the center line, over the end of the first stitch.
  4. Come up on the right edge, close to the last stitch, and go down just across the center line, over the end of the stitch before.
  5. Keep alternating, left then right, each stitch lying right beside the last one on its side.
  6. Carry on to the base of the leaf, then finish on the back.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

No clear center vein.
Cross the center line by the same small amount every time, so the overlaps line up.
Gaps between the stitches.
Bring each new stitch up right beside the last one on its side of the leaf.
The angle drifts.
Keep every stitch at the same slant from tip to base. A few drawn guide lines help.

How many strands?

Two strands for a small leaf, three for a bolder one. One strand gives a fine, delicate fill.

Embroidery floss comes as six thin strands twisted together. Cut a length from your fingertips to your elbow, pull out the strands you need one at a time, and lay them back together (DMC’s guide to stranded floss).

Questions people ask

What is fishbone stitch used for?

Mostly leaves, and other small pointed shapes like feathers. The stitches overlap in the middle, which draws a vein down the leaf as you fill it.

Do I start at the tip or the base?

At the tip. The Royal School of Needlework works it from the tip down to the base.

What's the difference between fishbone stitch and satin stitch?

Satin stitches lie side by side in one direction, edge to edge. Fishbone stitches slant in from both sides and overlap in the middle, so the leaf gets its own center vein.

Can I leave gaps between fishbone stitches?

Yes. Spaced out, it's called open fishbone stitch and makes a lighter, airier leaf. Packed close, it covers the shape.

Sources: Royal School of Needlework Stitch Bank: Fishbone stitch