How to Make a Quilt Feather Stitching
Not all historical quilts were made to provide warmth. Instead, some served as a way to show off the maker's exquisite needlework. The quilt maker would frequently cover seams with fancy decorative embroidery. One example -- which looks complex but is actually rather simple -- is the feather stitch. Using this stitch over the seams in your quilt provides an elegant, hand-finished look that a machine alone typically fails to provide.
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Instructions
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1
Make your quilt top as normal. The feather stitch is decorative; it is not intended to actually hold the quilt pieces together. Do not, however, attach the backing or batting yet.
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2
Draw four vertical lines, equally spaced, on a piece of scrap fabric. The lines should be approximately 1/4 inch apart as you learn the stitch. You can make the stitch narrower or wider once you are comfortable with it. For instruction's sake, think of these lines as line 1, line 2, line 3 and line 4 from left to right.
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3
Thread your needle and knot the thread. Pull the needle through the fabric, from back to front, near the top of line 1.
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4
Insert the tip of the needle back through the fabric at line 3, at an equal height to the original hole in line 1. In other words, move straight across by two lines and stick the tip of the needle back into the fabric. Do not pull the thread tight yet.
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5
Bring the tip of the needle back through the fabric on line 2, approximately 1/4 inch below the first two holes. You still should not pull the thread tight. This forms a loop of loose thread over the fabric piece. Pull the needle through this loop and then pull all the thread snug. You should begin to see the feather stitch forming now.
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6
Insert the needle tip downward through the fabric on line 4, parallel to the place where you just brought it up through the fabric. Without pulling the thread tight, bring the needle tip up through line 3 approximately 1/4 inch below the two holes you just made. This forms another loop of loose thread over the fabric piece. Pull the needle through this loop and then pull all the thread snug.
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7
Repeat this stitching process from the beginning until you are comfortable with the feather stitch. Finish off by simply sewing a small, snug loop through the last loop of the thread.
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8
Thread your needle with the color you wish to use for the feather stitch on your quilt.
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9
Sew the feather stitch on each of the seams in your quilt top. Overlap both sides of the seam to make it appear that this stitch is holding the pieces together.
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10
Finish the quilt as you normally would.
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