I start my spine at the top and go down then quilt feathers up one side, back down and back up. if I don't do the feathers from bottom to top they don't get that "droop" and If I don't do both from bottom to top, one side ends up going opposite way! Since I have difficulty with doing a continuous feathering on a border, I recently have switched to Angela Walter's Wild Feathers--shorter spines, feathers not as symmetrical, etc. Consistency is the key!