Originally Posted by Old hen
Originally Posted by mimee4
Thank you for asking this question. I always wanted to know, too.
Thank you! Some of the replies have been kind of snippy so I thought it might be another one of my dumb questions.
I think the posters were "keeping it light" not trying to be snippy.
Counting stitches is a legacy from our past when hand work was one of a ladies' "accomplishments" (see Jane Austin, LOL). Girls began their needlework educations early. Sewing a "fine seam" was a standard, and not just among the well-to-do classes. Imagine a garment put together with coarse stitches--the seams would gape and washday would be a disaster. A button hole not carefully worked would sag, tear and not hold a button.
High standards were expected in embroidery and quilting, too, partly aesthetics and partly practicality. Tiny stitches produced a tight, durable seam. Think how, today, we are advised to use very short machine stitches when we want to securely join fabrics. When working with the loose batting of the past, close, fine quilting stitches were the best way to secure a smooth, even, non-shifting filling.
When quilting revived nationally, quilt enthusiasts began looking at old quilts and marveled at the tiny stitches. Oh, they said, ten, twelve, fourteen stitches to the inch! This fine stitching would have been most evident in the quilts likely to survive the years, 'best' quilts, bridal, etc. Everyday quilts were
often long gone and most likely to have been done with longer stitches. The close, fine stitching of the past was a mark of quality and skill.
Quilters who make "Dear Jane" want to emulate a quilt of the past and might also like to emulate the quilting standards of that by-gone era.
Some quilters love 'wonky' and some abhor it.
Some quilters love traditional fine handwork, some enjoy machines. We admire corners that match, seams that lay flat and no one questions those standards nor should the quilter interested in fine stitching be discouraged or disparaged.