Learn The Closed Feather Stitch
The feather stitch takes many impressive forms, and the closed feather stitch is certainly one of the more interesting. This stitch looks completely different from an open feather stitch. It’s great used as a border or to fill a thicker column, and it looks vaguely like a ladder or a zipper.
Closed Feather Stitch
At a glance, each stitch is worked down a column at an angle, creating a zigzag effect in the center. Let’s break it down step by step.
First, start by making a feather stitch at a slight diagonal. (The right leg of the stitch should be vertical, the left leg should be at a diagonal.)
Make the next stitch facing the opposite direction, going down through the fabric just below A, then emerging in line with and below A with some space in between.
Here is how the second stitch should look at C, D, and E.
Continue alternating down the line, making the next stitch in the opposite direction from the previous stitch. From here on out, the needle should go down through the fabric directly below the point of the stitch above it, then emerge in line and below with some space in between.
To neatly enclose the ends, make the last stitch in line with the bottom of the previous stitch.
Ideas For Using This Stitch
This stitch forms a straight, thick line or column. Here are some creative ideas to incorporate it into your embroidery projects:
- the rim of a plant pot
- a decorative rectangular border around a design
- a flower trellis
- the handle of a basket
- the collar of a shirt or sweater
- fill in the edge of a table or piece of furniture
What a fun stitch variation this is. I hope you enjoyed it, and it encouraged you to think outside the box and use it intriguingly in one of your next stitching projects.
Have an interesting idea? Please share it and leave a comment!
Keep Learning
Take a look at these similar stitches to learn even more:
Amanda is a hand embroidery teacher and artist. With over 15 years of experience in the craft industry and embroidery, she owns and runs Crewel Ghoul, sharing accessible tutorials and patterns to help inspire fellow crafters to get creative. In addition to running this website, she teaches on Skillshare, Patreon, and Youtube. Her work has been featured in Country Living, Pop Sugar, Embroiderer’s Guild of America, and more.
