I tie all my quilts now. When my hands allowed it I hand quilted all of them. Then with some help from Jan VA I big stitch hand quilted but alas that too became a problem. After several tries with different products, and always coming loose, I finally discovered the surgeons knot on a utube. It works great. I have a friend who goes through the quilt twice before she ties it and has no problems but that seems a bother to me. Have fun, my kids love tied quilts, reminds them of the quilts grandma made for them.