I used to do only whole cloth/tied quilts for the grandchildren. I used the traditional poly batting. Have no idea what the recommended space for tying was. I made some of those starting almost twenty years ago. They are still in use -- washed and dried often. The acrylic yarn has become a little matted but looks fine. None have untied or raveled out. I had used my 6" square ruler to "measure out" the placement of the ties, staggering them "brick style." I've seen no problem with the quilts except that some of the fabrics have faded. The ties were cut about 3/4 to 1 inch long. I didn't know if I was doing it "right" or not, so I just did what seemed OK.
Another thing I have done in the past is use a decorative stitch (such as a circle, a little duck, or a star as the "tie." I just marked the quilt top and at each point, did the decorative stitch and went on until all were done. Then I cut threads. This worked well with baby quilts. Their little fingers didn't get caught in the "fuzzies."
Last edited by GailG; 08-03-2012 at 02:31 PM.