Originally Posted by Jeanne S

When I do straight line stitching, I do it this way: first I stitch the center line down the length of the quilt whether it is vertical or diagonal corner to corner. Then I do the second lines about 6 or 8 inches on either side of the center. I continue this way to the outside edges of the quilt. These widely spaced lines stabilize all the layers together. Then I go back and add more lines between the original wide spaced lines until I get the final spacing/density I want. I usually don't crosshatch, but if I did I would do the first set of wide spaced lines in both directions before going back and filling in the rest. I usually do straight lines 1" apart.