100 Stitches - open fishbone stitch

This starfish is stitched with the open fishbone stitch. Yes, you guessed it, the open fishbone stitch is the latest stitch on my 100 Stitches list. On this border, you may also recognize the running stitch and french knots:This is an extremely easy to learn stitch. It is a lot like the fishbone stitch but even a bit simpler! To demonstrate this stitch, I am using quilter's weight cotton and pearl cotton floss, dmc #798:100 Stitches suggests that this stitch may be used to fill any open shape. I drew a shape and added a dotted reference line down the middle:Start the stitch by coming up through the fabric on the left hand side of the dotted reference line:Now go back into the fabric at a slant from where your floss first emerged: Pull all the way through:Come back up through the fabric on the opposite side of your shape:and go back into the fabric on the right hand side of the guideline, and a bit below the point where your floss first emerged:Pull through to form the stitch:Then just like the very first step, come up through the fabric on the left hand side of the guide line:and then back into the fabric:forming another slanting stitch:back up through the fabric:pull all the way through and go back into the fabric on the right hand side of the guideline:and pull all the way through:continue in the same way:Until the shape is filled:This is an easy stitch and it gives a beautiful result:especially with my washable marking pen lines erased: Looks pretty good on the underside of the fabric too!
This stitch is stitch #12 and is listed in the flat stitches section of 100 Stitches.