Fill stitch
Fill stitch covers an area with many rows of short stitches sewn back and forth, the usual way to color large shapes in machine embroidery. It is also called tatami fill.
A fill stitch covers an area with rows of short stitches that run back and forth, side by side, like a woven mat. Digitizers often call it a tatami fill. Satin stitch makes a smooth, shiny column and suits narrow shapes. Fill is the choice for larger areas, such as the body of a logo, a leaf, a letter background or any shape too wide for a single satin column.
It matters because fills usually produce most of the stitches in a design. That drives sewing time, stiffness and the risk of puckering. If rows sit too far apart, the fabric shows through and the color looks thin. If they sit too close, thread piles up, the needle can deflect or break, and the fabric draws in. A fill also needs underlay, a base layer of lighter stitching that flattens the fabric and holds the top stitches in place.
For 40-weight thread, a common starting point is rows about 0.016 in (0.4 mm) apart with stitches about 0.12 to 0.16 in (3 to 4 mm) long. A lighter fill uses rows near 0.020 in (0.5 mm) apart. Thicker 30-weight thread needs a bit more room, and knits and towels usually do better with a lighter fill over good underlay than with a denser one. The row angle is set in digitizing software, and underlay normally runs across the top stitches, at about 90 degrees, with wider spacing. Staggering the stitch ends from row to row keeps them from lining up into visible lines. Pull compensation widens the shape slightly to offset fabric pull.
You rarely change a fill on the machine itself. A downloaded stitch file holds a fixed list of stitches, so changes happen in editable digitizing software. Some machines let you adjust density on built-in lettering, so check your manual.
Common mistakes: sewing a satin border over a fill without lightening the fill underneath, letting two objects overlap by accident, and resizing a design without recalculating density. Many tools just move the stitch points, so keep changes within about 20 percent, and always stitch a test on scrap fabric first.
Example: A 2 × 2 in (50 × 50 mm) square fill at 0.016 in (0.4 mm) row spacing needs about 125 rows. With stitches about 0.14 in (3.5 mm) long, each row holds roughly 14 stitches, so the fill sews about 1,800 stitches before underlay. Opening the rows to 0.020 in (0.5 mm) with 0.16 in (4 mm) stitches drops that to about 1,250, roughly 30 percent fewer. These numbers are illustrative.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a fill stitch and a satin stitch?
A fill stitch covers an area with many short stitches in rows, so it suits large shapes. A satin stitch runs single long stitches across a narrow column and gives a smooth, raised look, so it suits borders, thin shapes and lettering.
How dense should a fill stitch be?
For 40-weight thread, rows about 0.016 in (0.4 mm) apart is a common starting point, with a lighter fill near 0.020 in (0.5 mm). Treat these as starting values, since fabric, thread weight and stabilizer all change what works.
Why does my fill look puckered or show fabric through it?
Puckering often points to a fill that is too dense, too little stabilizer or no underlay. Fabric showing through points to rows that are too far apart, often after a design was enlarged. Stitch a test on scrap fabric, then adjust stabilizer or density.