One of my favorite hand stitches is the Feather Stitch. I think it's beautiful, unusual and fun to do....but many people don't like it, or they are very hesitant to try it.
Feather Stitch adds an elegant touch to baby clothes, on borders (above or right on the border) and even in smocking. In the photo at right the bottom smocking row is Single Feather Stitch worked horizontally in variegated thread. There are also a multitude of variations found in Crazy Quilts.
This photo (right) shows a Triple Feather Stitch in the peach colored floss with added lazy daisy stitches. This is part of a Dresden Plate crazy quilt that I made years ago.
Here is another example of Triple Feather Stitch going around two sides of the blue patch. Isn't the variegated thread gorgeous? Feather Stitch is just the perfect stitch and it's particularly beautiful in variegated thread that has short colorways to show off the changes in color. Look at the Silk Ribbon Roll-Up below to see the variegated thread I used that's from Treenway Silks...it's the Montano "St Thomas" color silk cord. Absolutely gorgeous stuff to work with!
The terms for different Feather Stitches can get a little confusing: Single Feather Stitch, Double Feather Stitch, Triple... The Single Feather stitch looks like two rows of Feather Stitch because it's alternating "U's", one on the left and one on the right as the stitch is worked down a line. So why wouldn't it be called a Double Feather Stitch? Well, if one did a single row of "U's" down a line it would be an open chain stitch. Historically it was called a Coral Stitch...yup, that's right. If you look at page 19 of the Encyclopedia of Needlework by Therese De Dillmont, it states that figure 46 (what we know as a feather stitch) "illustrates single coral stitch, worked vertically". To make it even more interesting, Carole Samples, in her incredible tome entitled Treasury of Crazy Quilt Stitches, has done an amazing study on it. Chapter Two of her book starts off with "Demystifying the feather stitches, or, a blanket stitch by any other name....". Indeed, the feather stitch is just a morphed version of the blanket stitch.
Enough history for now! So where do I use Feather Stitch? Right now I'm working on a boy's christening gown and am using the Single Feather Stitch in the main motif of the Infinity symbol. It circles the skirt and is on the bodice and sleeves, along with a very unusual treatment using "trailing" bullions (a technique I saw on an antique christening gown) that completes the infinity motif. I'm using DMC Cotton Floche and working "in-hand" (not using a hoop). Love the floche! So soft, thicker than floss, and works up beautifully in feather stitch and bullions (to name a few stitches).So here's how to do a Single feather Stitch.....
