Scotch Stitch in Needlepoint: How to Work It, With Diagrams

Scotch stitch is five diagonal stitches that fill a square three canvas threads on each side. The stitches cover one, two, three, two, and one intersections, so the longest runs corner to corner through the middle and the unit reads as a small slanted square. Repeated side by side, Scotch units make a bold checkerboard texture that shows from across the room.

What Scotch stitch is

Scotch belongs to the diagonal family of decorative stitches: every stitch slants the same way as a tent stitch, bottom left to top right, but over more than one intersection. It's the bigger cousin of mosaic stitch, which builds the same kind of square from three stitches in a 2 × 2 block.

Because each unit is a clear square, Scotch reads as a pattern rather than a texture. Worked in one color, the squares show through light catching the different stitch lengths. Worked in two colors, alternating unit by unit, it becomes a checkerboard.

How to work Scotch stitch

Work one unit at a time, row by row:

1. Short corner stitch. Start at the top-left corner of the square with a tent stitch over one intersection.
2. Build to the middle. Make the next stitch over two intersections, then the middle stitch over three, from the bottom-left corner of the square to the top-right.
3. Step back down. Finish with a stitch over two, then one, at the opposite corner.
4. Move to the next unit. The next square shares the holes along its edge with this one.

Keep the stitch order the same in every unit. Units worked in different orders lie slightly differently, and over a large area the difference shows.

Scotch stitch variations

• Alternating with tent squares. Scotch units alternate with 3 × 3 blocks of tent stitch, checkerboard fashion. The tent squares calm the pattern down and make it a good background.
• Framed Scotch. Each unit is outlined with a row of tent stitches, often in a second color, giving a tiled look.
• Reversed Scotch. Neighboring units slant in opposite directions. It adds texture and, usefully, cancels out much of the canvas distortion.
• Two colors. Alternate colors unit by unit for a checkerboard, or work the long middle stitch in a contrasting thread.

Keeping the canvas square

Scotch is one of the decorative stitches that pulls the canvas out of square the most. Every stitch slants the same way, and the long middle stitch in each unit pulls hard. Over a large area, the canvas skews into a parallelogram.

Three things keep it under control. Work on stretcher bars or a frame, not in hand. Keep the tension light, letting the thread lie on the canvas rather than pulling it tight. And for big areas, use reversed Scotch or the tent-square variation, which both break up the pull. Plan to block the piece when it's done.

When to use it

Scotch suits framed pieces and geometric designs: backgrounds behind simple motifs, checkerboard floors, plaid, tiles. The long middle stitches snag on items that get handled, so on pillows and bags use mosaic instead; it gives a similar look at a smaller, sturdier scale. The background stitches guide compares Scotch with the other common choices.

Diagonal stitches cover canvas the way tent stitch does, so the thread that covers well in tent on your mesh count will cover in Scotch too. The long stitches show off silk and perle cotton nicely.

Further reading

• RSN Stitch Bank — the Royal School of Needlework's library of canvaswork stitch diagrams
• KC Needlepoint Stitch Vault — numbered diagrams for Scotch and its variations
• American Needlepoint Guild — classes and courses on decorative stitches