Fill stitch

Fill stitch — also called tatami stitch — packs a shape with rows of straight stitches laid side by side, each row offset slightly from the last so the thread locks together instead of splitting apart. Digitizers set the row spacing, usually somewhere between 0.35mm and 0.55mm, and pick a stitch angle that runs with the longest dimension of the shape to cut down on thread breaks and keep the fill from looking like corduroy.

For the buyer, fill stitch is where stitch count — and price — really piles up. A 3-inch outline logo might run 4,000 stitches; fill in the same space to make it a solid block and that number can climb past 12,000. We've quoted logos where swapping a filled letter block for an outlined one cut the stitch count by a third and the customer never noticed the difference from six feet away.

Good digitizers split large fill areas into smaller sections with staggered edges so the piece doesn't pucker, and they'll often recommend thinning out solid areas in a logo redesign specifically to control cost. On heavier garments like fleece, a denser fill stitch holds up fine; on lightweight tees, a slightly more open row spacing keeps the fabric from going stiff.

The common mistake is assuming a solid-color logo is the cheap option because it's "just one color." In embroidery, coverage drives cost far more than color count — a one-color fill stitch block can cost more to sew than a five-color outline design.