Maidenhair stitch is a very decorative stitch which can be accompanied with other stitches like the french knot or oyster stitch to create beautiful designs. This stitch is a bit different from from the other kinds in feather stitch family. Intead of taking a ‘V’ shape each time, it finishes a set of half ‘V’s on one side before moving to the other. Let’s say that it follows, more or less, the single feather stitch technique, with the stitches on both sides.

I will work on three parallel stitch lines A, B,C. It is advised that stitch lines be drawn to avoid asymmetry.

Fig 1: First, make a singe ‘V’ as for a regular feather stitch. Bring the needle out through A.  Putting in the needle through C, bring it out through B.		Fig 2: Now, take the needle in through a point in a straight line and closer to A, as shown. Bring the needle out through B.
Fig 3: As done before, take the needle in at yet another point in a straight line closer to  the previous point. Again, bring out the needle diagonally through B and pull it out with the thread under it.		Fig 4: Now, we begin a similar procedure on the other side. Take the needle in through C, bring it out through B, and with the thread under the needle, pull it out.
		Fig 5: We keep on with this procedure, alternating between both sides after every set of stitch. B will always remain the stitch line from where the needle will always emerge out.
		Fig 6: A finished portion of maiden hair stitch will look like this. You may add as many branches on the sides as you wish, but the farther you go towards the sides, the longer the stitch gets and the higher the chance of the thread loosening.

Share/Bookmark

Tags: blanket stitch, decorative stitch, feather stitch, feather stitch family, maidenhair stitch

8 Comments »

Double feather stitch is, again, a decorative stitch. It follows the same technique as feather stitch, but has branches on either sides. Once this technique is learnt, it is easy to make as many branches as you want to suit your stitch requirements.

I would work on five stitch lines A,B,C,D,E. You need to know the feather stitch to be able to do this stitch.

Fig 1: Begin by bringing out the needle through C, putting it in through E, and again brining it back from D, to make the first ‘V’. Start to make the next ‘V’ by taking the needle in through B and bringing it out of C. Make sure that all the diagonal stitches are parallel to each other.		Fig 2: Once you pull out the thread and finish the second ‘V’, you begin teh procedure for the next one as shown in the picture.
Fig 3: You have finished one set of ‘V’s. Now you work back towards the right side in the same manner.		Fig 4: This illustation will help you to follow the stitches in sequence, beginning from 1.
		Fig 5: A finished portion of double feather stitch looks like txhis.

Share/Bookmark

Tags: blanket stitch, decorative stitch, double feather stitch, feather stitch, feather stitch family

15 Comments »

This stitch is so called as, unlike the regular feather stitch, we do not alternate the stitch between the left and right side, but to only one side. It follows the technique of blanket stitch, the only difference being that the stitches are slanted instead of being straight.

The stitch will be worked between two stitch lines A and B.  I will work this stitch from top to bottom towards the right side. This stitch can be worked towards the left side too.

Fig 1: We bring the needle out through A and bring it out through B. Note that A and B lies in a straight line. Now, bring the needle out through A, which lies diagonal to B. With the thread under the needle, as shown, pull the needle out.		Fig 2: We continue the procedure. Notice that, unlike the feather stitch, this is a series of one sided ‘V’s.
		Fig 3: A finished portion of finished single feather stitch would look like this.

Share/Bookmark

Tags: blanket stitch, decorative stitch, feather stitch, feather stitch famiy, single feather stitch

2 Comments »

Feather stitch is a decorative stitch, usually, used to accompany it with embelishments or other forms of stitches like the French knot. This stitch can be used liberally to make beautiful borders, horizontal or vertical fillings, or even designs with curves. It looks like a series of interconnected ‘V’s.

It is always advised to make stitch lines to avoid any asymmetry. I have made four parallel stitch lines, A, B, C, D. The stitches will fall between these lines and the needle will pass through these lines.

Fig 1: Begin by bringing up the needle from B. Now, put the needle in through D and bring it out from C. Note that the points on B and D falls on a straight line, and C lies diagonally to both B and D. Pull the needle out with the thread under it, as shown. We would form our first ‘V’.		Fig 2: We now move to make our next ‘V’. Continue to put the needle in through A and bring it out through B. Pull the needle out with the thread under it as shown, to make the next ‘V’.
Fig 3: Now, continue the procedure by putting the needle in through the outer stitch line and brining it out from the inner stitch line. We keep alternating between the left and right side to make the ‘V’s- putting in the needle through A and bringing it out from B; putting the needle in through D and bringing it out from C.		Fig 4: Once a small portion of feather stitch is done, this is how it would look like.

Share/Bookmark

Tags: blanket stitch, decorative stitch, feather stitch, feather stitch family

17 Comments »