Chain stitch, feather stitch and faggoting

1Why this matters

Pull the thread across the top of a sack of rice or sugar and the whole seam unzips in one go. That seam is a machine-made chain stitch, a stitch made of loops. Worked by hand, the same looped stitch makes some of the most beautiful embroidery in the world.

This lesson covers three looped and joining stitches: chain stitch, feather stitch and faggoting. It ends with how to judge whether any stitching is of good quality.

2Chain stitch

Chain stitch is a line of loops, each held in place by the next, like the links of a chain. It is one of the oldest embroidery stitches: silk chain-stitch embroidery about 3,000 years old has been found in China.

1. Bring the needle up at the start of the line.
2. Put the needle back into the same hole (or just beside it) and bring the point out one stitch length further along the line. Do not pull it through yet.
3. Loop the thread under the needle point, then pull the needle through gently so the loop lies flat.
4. Put the needle back in inside the last loop, beside where the thread came out, and repeat.
5. Finish with a tiny stitch over the end of the last loop to hold it.

Uses: outlines, flowing curved lines and lettering. A single loop tied down on its own (a detached chain, or lazy daisy stitch) makes a petal. Weakness: if a machine chain stitch is broken or pulled from the end, the whole row unravels, which is useful on a sack but bad in a garment seam.

3Feather stitch

Feather stitch is a line of open, looped stitches made alternately to the left and right of an imaginary centre line, so that it branches like a feather or a fern. It developed in England in the 1800s for decorating the smocks worn by farm workers.

1. Draw a guide line. Bring the needle up at the top of the line.
2. Insert the needle a little to the right on the same level, and bring it out a little lower and in the middle, with the thread under the needle point. Pull through to make a V-shaped loop.
3. Now insert the needle a little to the left, level with where the thread came out, and bring it out lower and in the middle, thread under the needle.
4. Keep alternating right and left, with equal spacing.

Uses: decorative borders, baby clothes, smocking, and covering the joins between patches in patchwork quilts.

4Faggoting

Faggoting is a decorative open seam: two folded edges are held a few millimetres apart and joined by a thread that criss-crosses the gap, giving a lacy look. A common form is worked with open Cretan stitch.

1. Fold under and press (or hem) the two edges to be joined.
2. Tack both edges onto a strip of paper or thin card, keeping an even gap of about 3 to 6 mm between them.
3. Bring the needle out on the fold of one edge. Cross the gap and take a small stitch into the fold of the other edge, a little further along, with the needle pointing towards the gap. Cross back and do the same on the first edge.
4. Keep the crossing points evenly spaced along both edges, then remove the tacking and the paper.

Uses: joining strips of fabric in table runners, yokes of blouses, baby clothes, and inserting lace. Faggoting is decorative, not strong, so it is not used where a seam takes strain.

5Checking the quality of hand stitching

Worked example: a faggoted table runner

Keza joins two strips of kitenge, each 12 cm wide when hemmed and 42 cm long, with faggoting, leaving a gap of 5 mm.

(a) Finished width. 12 cm + 12 cm + 0.5 cm = 24.5 cm.

(b) Number of stitches. She takes a stitch every 6 mm, alternating between the two edges. 42 cm = 420 mm, and 420 ÷ 6 = 70 stitches, 35 on each edge.

(c) Keeping the gap even. She tacks both strips onto a strip of paper 5 mm apart before she starts, and removes the paper when she has finished.

Practice

Solution. Back stitch forms a thin, unbroken line of straight stitches touching end to end. Chain stitch forms a thicker line of loops, each loop held by the next, like the links of a chain.

Solution. It is a machine chain stitch. Each loop is held only by the next loop, so once the end is freed, pulling the thread releases every loop in turn.

Solution. The paper holds the edges flat and keeps the gap the same width all the way along, so the criss-cross stitches are even. It is removed afterwards.

Solution. Pull the thread more gently so the loops lie flat, and use a hoop to keep the fabric tight. Draw a centre guide line, and mark equal spacing with chalk so each loop is the same size.

Solution. 10 + 10 + 0.4 = 20.4 cm.