Stitch Your Dogby Make It Yours

Stitch guide · Fills

How to do a long and short stitch

Long and short stitch is a filling stitch used to shade, blending rows of straight stitches of different lengths so colors melt into each other. It's the stitch behind realistic “thread painting”, including lifelike fur. Use it to fill shapes too big for satin stitch. It takes practice, so start small.

  • Level Intermediate
  • Also called Thread painting, Soft shading

Use it in a pet portrait for…

  • Realistic, shaded fur, with every row following the way the coat grows.
  • Larger solid areas, like a dark patch or the nose on a big portrait.

The Stitch Your Dog course keeps portraits to clean line art, so you don't need this stitch for your first dog. It's the next step if you want realistic fur.

How to do it, step by step

Long and short stitch: where the needle goesRow 1: come up inside the shape at 1 and go down over the split-stitch edge at 2, then up at 3 and down at 4, mixing long and short stitches. Row 2, in the next shade, comes up through a first-row stitch at 5 and goes down further in at 6.123456

Row 1: come up inside the shape at 1 and go down over the split-stitch edge at 2, then up at 3 and down at 4, mixing long and short stitches. Row 2, in the next shade, comes up through a first-row stitch at 5 and goes down further in at 6.

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

  1. Outline the shape in split stitch, and draw a few guide lines showing which way the stitches should point. For fur, follow the way the coat grows.
  2. First row: come up inside the shape and go down just over the split-stitch edge. Start in the middle of the edge.
  3. Work out along the edge, making some stitches long and some short. Keep them close together and pointing along your guide lines.
  4. Second row: switch to the next shade. Come up through a first-row stitch, splitting it partway along, and go down further into the shape.
  5. Stagger where each second-row stitch starts, so there's no hard line between the rows.
  6. Keep adding rows until the shape is full, moving one shade at a time.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Stripes where the rows meet.
Stagger the stitches: come up at different points along the stitches of the row before.
Stitches pointing every which way.
Draw direction lines first, and make every stitch follow them.
A lumpy, bulky fill.
Use a single strand, and don't crowd too many stitches into one spot.
Harsh jumps between colors.
Choose shades that sit close together, and blend each new shade in over a few stitches.

How many strands?

One strand blends most smoothly and is the classic choice. Two strands covers faster but shows more texture.

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

Is long and short stitch hard?

It's the most advanced stitch in this library. Each stitch is easy; blending them smoothly takes practice. Try a small shape first, like a leaf or a single ear.

What's the difference between long and short stitch and satin stitch?

Satin stitch covers a shape with single stitches from edge to edge. Long and short stitch builds the fill in staggered rows, so it can cover bigger areas and blend colors.

Do I need a split-stitch edge first?

Most guides start with one, including the Royal School of Needlework. The first row goes down over it, which gives the shape a crisp edge.

Which way should the stitches point?

Draw guide lines before you start. For fur, follow the way the coat grows, from the root out to the tip.

Sources: Royal School of Needlework Stitch Bank: Long and short stitch · Royal School of Needlework Stitch Bank: Split stitch