Backstitch first or fill in?

by Kelly
(Cambridgeshire, UK. )

Hi, I've just started embroidery and I use the cloth with printed pattern type. My current pattern has a half moon filled in with a back stitch around the outside. Do I sew the back stitch first then fill in or is it better to fill in first then do the back stitch? Thank you for your time and help.

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Leave the backstitch until the end.
by: Carol

What an excellent question, Kelly! Nice to see someone from my part of the world too. :)

The answer depends on what stitch you use to fill the area.

For example, if you are using a satin stitch, that would generally be worked over the top of the outline to give a neat shape. Often in this instance, a split stitch is used rather than back stitch.

However, in most situations, I recommend doing the back stitch outline after filling in the shape. This prevents filling stitches from slightly overlapping the back stitch and spoiling the sharpness of the outline.

If you are working on a printed cross-stitch design, I recommend leaving the back stitch until an area is completed (not necessarily the whole design).

I hope this helps.

Carol

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