100 Stitches - Closed feather stitch

This intricate looking stitch is the closed feather stitch:It is the latest stitch I have learned on my 100 Stitches project.To demonstrate my method, I am using pearl cotton floss, quilter's weight cotton fabric, and a #24 chenille needle:100 Stitches shows this stitch being worked vertically from top to bottom so that is what I did. I quickly figured out that this is one of those stitches that benefits from having guidelines! I drew mine a generous 1/4" apart:The first step is to start on the left hand guideline. Come up through the fabric at a small distance below the beginning of the guideline:and pull the floss all the way through:The next step is to go into the fabric at the start of the right hand guideline.Go into the fabric and come back out. Notice how the needle looks in relation to the working thread - it is going to go over the working threadand as you pull your floss through, it is going to naturally form a loop:Keep pulling...and the first stitch is done: Next, the needle goes back to the left guideline, and directly below where the floss very first emerged, goes back into the fabric:take a stitch, again notice the needle position in relation to the working thread - it is over the working thread: pull all the way through: and head back over to the right hand guideline, same as before go into the fabric directly below where the floss emerged: and take a stitch making sure to remember the needle is going to go over the working thread: and pull all the way through: over to the right hand guideline again - just keep going back and forth: until have finished the row of stitching: I washed out the blue guidelines: I think this is such a beautiful stitch, from all angles: even the underside! I enjoyed learning to do this stitch! It is #30 and is in the Looped Stitches section of 100 Stitches