13. Learn to Quilt a Tiny, Stacked Version of Flame Stitch

It’s time to play with designs and today I’m playing with a very old friend. Flame Stitch was actually the first design I ever created by slightly changing a design I knew, and it can easily be credited with giving me the original idea for the Free Motion Quilting Project. From small seeds, massive things can grow and bear fruit!

But today’s version of the design is very specific – I wanted to use this design to form the “feather” body of Duchess Reigns:

In order to create a layered, regimented texture like this, the design can’t be random or freeform. Here’s another version of the same design, stitched slightly differently to form this texture:

The difference is short, stacked shapes verses long, wiggly flowing shapes working in all directions. Two different styles, two different textures. Never underestimate the power of a wiggly line!

So for Duchess Reigns I know I need to keep things short, stacked, and under control. Here’s a video on how this design was filled through one of her arms:

As you can see, filling flame stitch through this section will be a very different experience than if I stitched long wiggly lines very randomly through her body. It’s really down to finding the texture you want and figuring out the best way to make it happen.

So definitely give both the short, stacked version and long wiggly versions of Flame Stitch a try and link up with us tomorrow to share where you’ve quilted them in Express Your Love!

Let’s go quilt,

Leah Day