Lately, I’ve gotten quite a few requests for a video demonstration of twilling, an embroidery technique used in quilting that’s become very popular here in the Midwest. Well, I’m very happy to oblige with a video – no problem at all!

This is what twilling looks like:

Surface embroiderers will recognize the stitch in the photo above as Palestrina stitch.

Quite a while back, I used the Palestrina stitch on this hand embroidered linen pouch, which is where the photos above came from.

A couple weeks ago, Georgene sent me a photo of her recent tone-on-tone twilling on a quilt block. Georgene used the Golden Circle Hungarian embroidery pattern for her twilling design, and the whole thing is stitched in twilling stitch, also known as Palestrina stitch.

Normally, from what I’ve read (and I’m open to plenty of correction here – I’m not really a quilter, so I’m not too up on the quilting scene!), in the past, quilling was generally done white-on-white (or off-white-on-off-white, tone-on-tone, etc.) Today, quilters are incorporating plenty of color into their twilling adventures. The stitching is usually done in heavier thread, like a #5 pearl cotton, but finer lines can easily be stitched in a couple (or three) strands of embroidery floss, too.

I love it when the various textile arts cross over like this! Surface embroidery… quilting…. twilling. Great stuff!

If you’re looking for a video on twilling stitch, look no further – you’ll find it under the Palestrina stitch in the How-to Videos here on Needle ‘n Thread.

Twill on, says I!