I had never really paid attention to how much the stitches show on the front. I have used both the ladder stitch and the whip stitch. I have more luck with the whip stitch. I just went to look at some of my blocks. It doesn't show much. For me the whip stitch shows less. I use a thin card stock. As you can see my stitches are not perfect but they work for me. I stitch for the enjoyment of making something with my hands.
Everyone has a different preference to how things should look.
As with doing quilting stitches. I like bigger stitches,others prefer tiny stitches.
