My mother requested an embellished denim shirt for Christmas and sent a couple of photos for examples. She has one she likes, but it’s autumn colors and an autumn leaf design, and she wanted one that was both less season-specific and more “her” colors. I went to the store and picked up some fat quarters and embroidery floss, got home, realized I had no idea how to use the fabric on the shirt in a way that would be appealing, and decided to just embroider. A look through one of my embroidery stitch books brought me the feathered chain stitch and I set to work. Thanks to my husband for better photos than I could have managed with the lighting available!
(as always, click to embiggen, but the real beauty shots are below)
Feathered chain is an awkward stitch because the needle points every which way throughout the making of it. Not an issue if you’re stitching up and down in separate motions, but I wanted to hide the stitch backs between fabric layers (and nearly succeeded) to minimize snagging possibilities, so I had to choose between constantly turning the work or pointing the needle in uncomfortable directions that were harder to control.
I would say it’s not my neatest work ever, but the truth is I’m not a particularly neat or careful embroiderer. Mom liked it, though, and that’s all that matters.
Floss was DMC 333 (purple), 601 (pink), 3812 (teal), and 3845 (bright blue). I stitched with three strands, always two of one color and one of another to make my own sort of variegated floss. One side of the back is worked, outside-in, with two pink and one teal, one pink and two teal, two teal and one purple, and one teal and two purple, one eighth of the width of the back apiece. The opposite side is the same but with blue in place of teal, and the button placket is the same but with the pink at the center and purple at the ends. Since the motif in center back was mostly purple, I made the pocket stitching mostly pink.
