The Spanish Knotted Feather Stitch is such a pretty stitch! And it’s really easy! As far as movement of the stitch goes, it’s a combination of the twisted chain stitch and the feather stitch. It creates a pretty zig-zag line that takes gentle curves well.
There are lots of applications for Spanish Knotted Feather Stitch. You can use it in regular surface embroidery for borders, to create jagged stems, as a decorative line for swirls and curves. You can use it as an effective seam treatment in crazy quilting. It’s used in some Mountmellick embroidery projects. It’s a versatile stitch, and worth adding to your stitching repertoire!
In the photo above, the aqua thread (which is floche, stitched on wool felt) is the Spanish Knotted Feather Stitch. The lower stitch, in bright pink, is the wheat stitch.
You can also check out this tutorial on how to change your thread in the middle of a line of Spanish Knotted Feather Stitch. Sometimes, it’s hard to figure out how change to a new thread when you’re trucking along on a line made with a more complex stitch.
Closing the Spanish Knotted Feather Stitch
You can also close up the spacing on the Spanish Knotted Feather Stitch, to produce a nice, rich, braided line that looks like this:
We discussed working the closed Spanish knotted feather stitch in the Stitch Fun series, including information on stitch size, line width, thread weight, and so forth.
Spanish Knotted Feather Stitch Video
Here’s the video for the Spanish Knotted Feather Stitch (email subscribers, please visit the website to view):
You can find lots more how-to videos for hand embroidery stitches here on Needle ‘n Thread, and over the next couple months, the collection of videos will be expanding! I’m also slowly switching out all the older videos with newer, cleaner versions. I’m always open to stitch requests, too, so if you have any, leave a comment below or e-mail me!
Hope you enjoy it!
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What a beautiful stitch. Can’t wait to try it out. Thanks.
Excellent tutorial and a lovely stitch. I will be giving it a try as well. Thanks you!
Hi Mary and all folks here.
Aside from the excellant tutorials, references and resources one of the things I love most about this site is the generosity of readers that share their (discovered) links. I find more each time I “enter” and save them to my favorites (sub-needlework). I can spend hours reading what folks are doing and following their links.
Thanks to all. And particularly you, Mary, for developing and continuing this site.
Doreen
Mary,
Thank you SO MUCH for your videos. I am one of those people who CANNOT understand the drawn diagrams in stich encyclopedias, so your videos are a LIFESAVER. I have already learned so much from Needle N Thread.
THanks again,
Diane
hola Mary ..me viene muy bien ,este tema.tengo en proyecto un bordado.y quiero probar con puntadas que se ajusten al tema.haber estas puntadas,quedarian muy bien.bajo el techo del edificio a trabajar y asi
gracias y que estes bien Mary
un abrazo
thanks so much for the video of the spanish knot so very good and can’t wait to try.
Cheers Glenys
My Dear Mary,
Thank you so much for giving the technics and helping all the way we need to improve our abilities.
I have a wonderful handycraft, done by myself.As a gratitude,I would love to shair it with you.
Please let me know the way to send it.
Huges and kisses!
Roin
Hi Mary, thank you for sharing.I didn’t know this stitch and the video is excellent…as usual!
Ciao Anna
Hello Mary,
Thank you for all your informative emails about embroidery. I am an avid read of all your news and tips.
Best wishes,
Barbara (Melbourne, Australia)
I just started getting your e-mails last week and I am SO IMPRESSED!!! Your tutorials are so clear and easy to understand and that is really saying something since I am just beginning to learn about embroidery. Thank you so much for your “oh so interesting” e-mails.
I began embroidery and crewl work at age 4 but then “life” happened and I was away from it for almost 20 years. Christmas I did a project promised at age 13 should a certain stage be reached in life for someone. It involved simple satin and chain stitching primarly. Now I’ve got the bug! I am also disabled now with lots of time on my hands and an inability to much else. I wanted a refresher but even with experience had trouble with most diagrams. I learned from family afterall originally. Your videos have been such a God send! Thank you so much! And I have even picked up a few very helpful new tips!
I embroider to attach patches so my work is far from your level of expertise. Today some new stitches were sought and the Spanish knotted feather stitch caught my attention. It looks easy enough, has the flow of the feather stitch to meaner around a patch, and requires little extra thread (floss).
New to this site I want to know if I am limited to viewing one, two, three or some number of stitch videos before a fee will need to be paid. Not familiar with the notion of paying for basic information I will not waste time where only my pocketbook is being sought.
Embroidery repairs are done for the benefit of others, not for any payment and affording floss is expense enough in my opinion. I did like your presentation of simple stitches. If split stitch turning into wood grain or trunk bark can be included my fences and trees can be worked into others embroidery designs. I have water stitches, cloud stitches, leaf, petal and fur stitches that could also be shared should you find the time to help me learn to use your hand embroidery site. “Knowledge is useless unless shared.”
There is no charge for using the site, regardless of the number of times.
Well Mary…………I Don’t think I will Soon Forget This Stitch…………….Judith
This is a new stitch I will be using. I just wanted to know if you would be using one thread or more?
gracias, por compartir, esta expectacular todos esos tutoriales de bordado, muuuuuuuuchas gracias.
Beautiful stitch. Question – In the stitch done in gold – it looks like a gold trim – is this just done with closer stitches?
Yes it is! It works into a really nice “gold trim” result, when it’s stitched close.
For the life of me – and after hours of research online – I can’t figure out what this yarn is called or what the embroidery stitch might be, so I can try it for myself.
You’re my last, best hope, Mary.
I looked for this trim/edging at my neighborhood fabric store, where I thought I bought it years ago. No one knows anything. I’m willing to embroider it myself if you can help me out. The finished piece of trim/edging is 3/8” wide.
Oh Pooh! I can’t upload a photo of the thread…
Hi, Christine – you can email me a photo at mary (at) needlenthread (dot) com