Thread: I was thinking of trying to hand quilt....

I have a question regarding hand quilting. I tried, and my stitches on the top look great, but, the underside does not look the same...

Anyone elses stitches look that? Do they look the same?

Can you explain the difference between them??

Originally Posted by EagarBeez

I have a question regarding hand quilting. I tried, and my stitches on the top look great, but, the underside does not look the same...

Anyone elses stitches look that? Do they look the same?

Don't worry about it, you will get better with practice, it is the front that matters.. I will tell you a secret.. I used to applique and just quilt round the shape, my quilting on the back was awful, I worried about it so I used a thin backing then put a nice one over the top of the thin one then bound it all.. no one could see the awfulness... i worry less now and have improved a little so no extra back.

I don't worry about it. I usually use a patterned fabric on my back anyway and the stitches on the back are not visible. They add texture but you have to get your nose about 3" away from the quilt to see the actual stitches.

Originally Posted by sueisallaboutquilts

Can you explain the difference between them??

The stiches on the top look great, meanwhile the stiches on the back look a little larger or not consistant with the front

sounds like the old "pratice pratice pratice. The rocking stitch takes time but each project gets better. Just keep going!

Don't worry, just practice practice practice. I was looking at some pillows I had made about 25 or so years ago, and yes I still have them. But I was inspecting my own work, and I actually did a better job hand stitching than my machine does. It just takes practice.

i have seen few quilters over my many many years of quilting that could hand quilt with stitches the same on back as top. Rather than worry about this, practice to make the back stitches consistent and penetrating through the layers.