I am learning to hand quilt and am wondering, how many stitches do you quilt to an inch? According to the Amish, 9 or 10 stitches to an inch is considered expert stitching.

I push to get 8...counting the top side only. I knew a lady once upon a time that quilted 12 to the inch! How she did it is beyond me! ;)

I think I get about 8 or 9, but more important than size is consistency. I tell my students to first work on making all their stitches the same size, both on top and bottom, and then with practice, work on making smaller stitches. Nothing looks worse than a few short stitches, then a long one, then short, etc.

I usually get 7. At least I keep them all the same size!

My fear is I will not do the bottom correctly. How do you know you are picking up all of the quilt in a stitch on the bottom? Without making the stitch to long?

Sounds good to me.
:thumbup:

I was watching a lady hand quilt at a local quilt shop, and her needle was the tiniest thing. I'm an oaf. Logger fingers, here. Gimme a darn darnin needle! But, I sure admire the talent and the craft. Blessings Ruth

When your underneath finger bleeds and then gets calloused you know you're through the 3 quilt layers. I can't use a thimble on that finger because I have to "feel" it go through (does that make sense?). I get about 8-10 stitches per inch but where I have a problem is at seam lines. I can't get the stitches on the bottom to come out even. Anybody have any hints on how to quilt evenly through seams? (A secret: the last time I entered my quilt in a a show, I cheated and sewed the stitches on the back at the seams.)
Thanks Vanessa for starting this topic-always can use advice for better hand quilting.

I hand quilt and I usually have 8-9 stitches per inch. The main thing is consistancy.

Mrs pete...you have the cutest dog! I have a black & white shih-tzu, too.