Overcast

The concept of overcast stitches originated with a repetitive motion of wrapping the edge of a piece of fabric with stitches.  They have evolved to include stitches worked on flat fabric, but the principles remain the same: a line is formed of stitches which are normally short, parallel, relatively close together and stitched in the same direction without looping.  The stitches can be worked over a fabric edge, a line of padding, or just a design line.