featherstitch

[ feth-er-stich ]

noun

1. an embroidery stitch producing work in which a succession of branches extend alternately on each side of a central stem.

verb (used with object)

1. to ornament by featherstitch.

featherstitch

/ ˈfɛðəˌstɪtʃ /

noun

1. a zigzag embroidery stitch

verb

1. to decorate (cloth) with featherstitch

Word History and Origins

Origin of featherstitch¹

First recorded in 1825–35; feather + stitch ( def )

Example Sentences

As if a fiend from the pit had been trained to do featherstitch!

From Project Gutenberg

Sew the seams, then fell them and featherstitch the outside of the seams in colored linen.

From Project Gutenberg

I can never featherstitch any more, Alison.

From Project Gutenberg

And when she found how neatly she could hemstitch and do such beautiful featherstitch, and darn, and read so plainly that it was a pleasure to listen to her, she had to admit that Hannah Ann was a real credit, and, she confessed in her secret heart, a very sweet little girl.

From Project Gutenberg

As it extended, I brought out a line of goods suitable for kings, and a nobby thing for duchesses and that sort, with ruffles down the forehatch and the running-gear clewed up with a featherstitch to leeward and then hauled aft with a back-stay and triced up with a half-turn in the standing rigging forward of the weather-gaskets.

From Project Gutenberg