I had someone ask me after my Stabilizer post yesterday what the difference is between satin stitch and fill stitch. I mentioned that when I monogram towels, I like to use a fill stitch (and that is my personal preference, not a requirement). Maybe this will help? Basically a satin stitch is the same as the finishing stitch on appliques. It’s a back and forth FLAT stitch and this is what it looks like below. When you see the fill stitch photo hopefully you will see the difference! This is Monogram Wizard Plus Serif Block.

Here is a 3 letter monogram done in a satin stitch. I use Monogram Wizard Plus and the below font is Arabesque. When you’re using MWP, it gives you the option of fill stitch or satin stitch for your monogram (below ‘system functions’ box where you save your files). If you buy font files off the internet, then they may come either way (probably) depending on how big the letters are.

Here is a fill stitch and this is also MWP Serif Block font. As you can see, it’s not a back and forth stitch, but rather a filled in stitch (hence the name?). Hopefully you see the difference? Fill stitch requires more thread and takes longer to sew, but for certain projects I prefer a fill stitch (like I mentioned ~ towels, blankets). It really depends on how big the monogram is – if it’s big and you’re using satin stitch, then you run the risk of the thread looping or getting caught or pulled.

Here is a fill stitch 3 letter monogram ~ same as above MWP Arabesque. As you may see below, parts of the R look a little more like satin and it does sew that way if the font is thin enough. I upped the boldness of these so you could really see how filled in the monogram was.

Hopefully that makes sense? Like I said, MWP gives you the option of satin or fill and some other programs may do the same. But, if you purchase fonts from websites who sell them, they usually come satin and/or fill but you can’t change them. Here is a font from www.jolsonsdesigns.com, and as you can see the bigger letters are fill and the smaller letters are satin. Here is the font: http://www.jolsonsdesigns.com/servlet/the-330/305-Georgie-Girl-Satin/Detail.

I have several fonts from Jolson’s and they all stitch great! They are really affordable too and I just found this picture on their website! This may better explain what I’m trying to explain:

I have also heard the term ‘column stitch’ and based on what I’ve read, that is another name for a satin stitch. I have also seen fonts that are so thick the sew in 2 side-by-side attached columns, so I guess that term could apply there as well!