Do you want to learn how to feather stitch? This is an excellent stitching technique for challenging areas where seams are closer than we would have liked. When I stitched fabrics together for this block, I found several small patches of cloth, not overly conducive to lengthy seam treatments.
Feather stitching allows you to create texture and depth in crazy quilting. Give it a try and showcase your results!
How to Use Feather Stitch in Crazy Quilting
I started experimenting by stitching a feather stitch vine in a fine metallic thread. I hadn’t planned on stitching a vine to carry through as many areas as shown above, but I must admit; I got a bit carried away, so I went with it. I liked it so much that I repeated the technique in several areas of this crazy quilt. I envisioned a vine just coming into bud in the garden. Once my vine branches were stitched, I wanted to stitch textured buds, so I hunted through my stash and found some silk chenille. It was white, so I experimented with some dyeing, and voila, a beautiful hand-dyed chenille. I used French knots for the buds, and the chenille created a lovely soft texture.
The red butterfly is iron-on! While you can sometimes find these in local sewing stores, I’ve seen better selections by researching online options. I believe this one came from Piecemaker’s in Costa Mesa.
Why not experiment with the feather stitch to create vines? Buds can be created with French knots in various threads if you don’t have any chenille in your stash.
