It is necessary to quilt the border, otherwise the batting will separate, ball up, leave areas with no batting and areas with balls of batting. The amount of quilting depends on the batting being used. Some need to be quilted every 2"-4" others allow up to 10" between quilting lines. It is important to follow at least the minimum to keep the batting from falling apart with use/ laundering. The quilting distance means in all directions there should be lines of quilting.