A series of straight flat stitches worked along a line in a continual forward motion through the ground fabric; stitches may or may not be of equal length on the face and/or the reverse. Worked in a single line as an outline, or may be disposed in rows to create a filling. In Ottoman embroidery, the running stitch, used in the pattern darning technique to fill large design areas, was disposed in closely worked parallel rows in diagonal alignment. In India it is also called the Kantha stitch