Embroidery 101: Feather Stitch

There are lots of feathered stitches, but they all branch out from a central line like a feather or twig. This instructable will illustrate the Long Armed Feather Stitch. This feathered stitch came in handy when defining and decorating the edges of my Dolores Umbridge Pin Cushion.

Note: I changed the color in the thumbnail so the stitching would stand out better. The pincushion is actually pink.

Thread your needle and tie off one end.

Pull the untied end of the thread to within a couple inches of the tied off end. This will keep your thread short while stitching and help prevent tangling. As you go along, pull the needle to shorten the untied off end so it continues to pull all the way through the fabric. This gives you twice the length of thread to use while keeping the length short while sewing.

I drew three lines on the fabric to illustrate the stitch. I recommend using this stitch when there's a change in fabrics like the edge of the pincushion. This way, you're at least provided with the central line without having to draw on your fabric.

Start from the back on your central line and pull the thread through.

Insert the needle lower than where you started on one of the outside lines. Do not pull the needle through.

Like using a straight pin, push the front of the needle back up so it connects with the center line above your first entry point. You're creating a diagonal line from the outside line to the center line.

Loop the thread from your first entry under the tip of the needle.

Pull the needle and thread through.

Repeat the previous steps on the other side. Remember to loop the thread under the tip of the needle before pulling though.

Go back and forth from one side to the next but returning to the center higher than your last stitch.

These images show how I used the long armed feather stitch on my Dolores Umbridge pincushion. I was able to use the center seam as my center line and keep the outside line straight by keeping the needle parallel to the last stitch.