Plume by Helen Richman

Most of us have, at some point, picked up a bird feather we’ve spotted lying on the ground.

Sometimes it’s just curiosity. Other times it’s because the colour catches your eye and you want a closer look.

When you find one in pristine condition, it’s often treated as a treasured find - something you might take home to display on a shelf, tuck into a book, or add to a small collection of found things.

They’re easy to overlook, but when you stop and really look at one, the detail is surprisingly beautiful.

A feather is a small piece of a bird’s world that we don’t usually get to see up close - something designed for flight, colour and movement, suddenly still in your hand.

And that raises an interesting thought: what if we could recreate that sense of nature’s wonder in stitch?

The project Plume by Helen Richman from Inspirations issue #128 explores that very idea.

Inspired by the iridescent colours of the rainbow lorikeet, this project takes a single feather and places it centre stage.

One of the most striking and clever points of difference in this piece is Helen’s creative decision to focus not on a portrait of the whole bird - as we’re so often accustomed to seeing - but on a single, iconic feature: its feather.

Stitched on white cotton, Plume is created using a mix of traditional goldwork techniques alongside vividly coloured stranded cotton threads and gleaming metal purls in gold and copper, as well as vibrant lime, sweet apple, clover and scarlet.

Couching and chipping are used to build layers of texture that catch the light in subtle ways.

The colour shifts in the design feel natural and unforced, moving from reds and orange through to yellows then green in a way that echoes the bird’s plumage, reimagined in stitch.

The finished feather has a real sense of lightness and movement - much like the real thing - and invites a quiet sense of wonder when you consider its form and function, both of which remain something of a mystery to us land-bound humans.

PLUME KIT UPDATE

Last year we invited those interested in a Plume kit to pre-order, and we’d like to thank everyone who jumped at the chance to secure a Ready-to-Stitch kit for this truly spectacular and unique piece.

If you missed out at the time, while we can’t promise anything, you’re welcome to email us.

For everyone who did place an order, your kits are currently being assembled and should be on their way to you in the coming weeks.

And hopefully, as you stitch your own Plume, you’ll come to appreciate even more just how extraordinary nature can be - all revealed through something as humble, and as remarkable, as a single feather.