browse through the french braid book & look at the quilts in the gallery- to get some ideas they are all quilted differently- i've made a number of french braids- one of my favorite patterns--- i can not even imagine stitch in the ditch- i do something different in everyone-
if you want to see how fans would look before commiting you can draw your fans on plastic wrap (like the cling stuff) then lay it ontop of your quilt to so you see the lines on top of the quilt.