Double Darning Stitch

Time for another 100 Stitches post.  This beautiful one is the Double Darning Stitch.  

This is an easy filling stitch and it looks especially nice when stitched with variegated thread.  I am using perle cotton DMC color variations #52:

The Double Darning Stitch, also known as pessante can be described as a double Running Stitch.  In a Running Stitch, each stitch and the space before the next stitch are the same length. All stitches and spaces are the same length.  In the Double Darning Stitch, the first stitching line is done as a line of Running Stitch worked from left to right: 

When the end of the stitching line is reached:

 Then the spaces are filled in by stitching back right to left, making sure to use the same needle holes made by the original stitches: 

The next line is started working again from left to right and directly under the first stitching line:

and back right to left:

Then the next line:

and so on...

When I was finished, I brought my thread through to the underside of the fabric and secured it by weaving through some of the stitches formed on the underside:

I learned this stitch from the book Embroidery Stitches by Mary Webb.