Ellen 1

I often see posts where someone is asking for help with their quilting plans and refer to the batting packaging to see how far apart the batting can be quilted.

A tip for beginning/newer quilters:

Please do not rely on the back of the batting packaging. The directions on the batting that says you can quilt 10” apart is the maximum distance between quilting stitches for the Batting alone. It is not advise for the distance in the Quilting motifs.

The quilting needs to be closer than 10”! The farthest stitching away from the next quilting motifs/stitching should be about a “fist width” apart. (This is not an exact measure so don’t blast me for this). :-)

The reason for quilting closer than 10”: Is to preserve the life of the quilt.

It stops the shifting of the batting (especially when it is washed). It keeps the quilt from sagging. It helps keep the stitching threads from breaking. It helps prevent the piecing from coming undone/ripping. It adds to the beauty of the finished quilt. I could go on.....

I know some people do not like very dense quilting. And some say, “it is your quilt, do what you want”. This is true. However, the “fist width” recommendation is for the longevity of your quilt. (This is what we all aspire to). (It also adds to the beauty of your quilting). You can quilt as dense or as loose as you like.

I hope this helps someone that is deciding how/what to quilt and are not sure how far apart to quilt the motifs from each other.

“The Quilt Police”. ;-)

quiltingshorttimer

I agree with you Ellen--I worry that if you quilt 8-10 apart that it will eventually sag and the top will have a droopiness to it. Plus like you said, the piecing is stabilized by the quilting too. caveat: I do like to "quilt the snot" out of my quilts!

linda8450

I have been quilting for about 10 years (sewing for 70 years) and recently had the opportunity to do a repair on my first quilt for my granddaughter. One seam had come undone (not sure I knew what a 1/4" seam was!) so I hand stitched it down and then inspected the whole quilt, more for a learning experience than anything. I had stitched in the ditch in the sashing, around 10" blocks that were cut from a panel and others I had embroidered. I was amazed at how well this quilt held up! It was well loved (washed frequently) by a child and that seam was the only place I had to fix. The embroidery was crude (I was new to that as well) but it isn't raveling or puckered. The quilt is not sagging and not falling apart. I had zig zagged the binding down (horrors!!) because I HATE hand work, but it is holding up well. I expected to see a mess....I hope I have improved in my skills....but I was pleasantly surprised at how well I had done for a newbie and how well the quilt was fairing. Now I quilt closer together (or have it long-armed) but no harm no foul on this one!

SuzzyQ

I don't expect my quilts to last forever but I do expect them to be used and well loved. The biggest compliment someone to whom I have gifted a quilt is that they wear it out. The biggest problems I have with quilt expiring before their time? The fabric gives out first. Made my DD a quilt when she was in Grade 7 or 8. It only lasted about 6 years because the background fabric basically rotted (?!). We repaired and replaced borders and binding and she is still using it now but that particular fabric is just disintegrating. And it was quilted about 4" apart. Not sure if quilting closer would have done anything. I'm making her a quilt to replace it because she won't give it up!

Jingle

I always do a meader or large Stipple. If I do straight line quilting I quilt no more than 3 or so inches. Too much time, fabrics and thread use to make a quilt to take a chance of it bunching up and ruining the looks. Just me.

lindaschipper

I also always do either a meander, stipple or loops d" loops on quilts. None of my quilts are perfect, but I do want them to last and not fall apart.

feline fanatic

I learned this valuable lesson early on in my quilting journey. I made some placemats for my mom that were quilted very sparsely. When I went to visit her, I found them in her linen closet and they were an ugly wrinkled mess! She thought she ruined them the first time she washed them and tucked them away in the closet. I don't blame her for tucking them away, they looked awful and I assured her she did nothing wrong, it was all due to me not quilting them enough. I tend to fall in the same camp as shorttimer, if I don't quilt something to death I certainly do strive for putting them on life support. Especially something that will be heavily used. At least for my own quilts, quilts done for others all depends on wants, budget and look. But I definitely try to adhere to "no more than a closed fist" spacing in all directions. About the only exception is a narrow sashing, I will ditch it but may not put any quilting in it. Most pantos (E2E designs) have spacing not more than 4" apart.

bkay

Maybe I'm just cranky this morning, but if that specification on the packaging is incorrect, why aren't you griping to the manufacturer? You would think that these manufacturers have tested their product and know it's capabilities. If not, gripe about their misleading packaging.

This thread, indeed, comes across as another "quilt police" injunction. You know the one: "You don't know anything. You're too stupid to read the packaging and I know everything and know it better. If you don't listen to me, you'll never succeed at quilting."

No one who has posted (so far) has said they had a problem with a quilt by following the specifications on the batting package. If so, how far apart was the spacing and what was the brand of batting? I promise not to buy it.

(Can you tell I've been mauled by the "quilt police" before?)

bkay

feline fanatic

Bkay, I disagree. My post said that the end product became a wrinkled ugly mess due to not quilting close enough and the end product was shoved into a closet to never be used. That is the last thing I want for a gifted quilty item. Maybe my standards for "a problem" are a bit more stringent, but I definitely consider that a problem with the finished product due to leaving my quilting space as far apart as the batting package recommended. The whole point of a thread like this is to hopefully help another quilter not make the same mistake. Not in the original topic nor in any of the responses was anyone stating someone was "too stupid" or will "never succeed at quilting" if the advice is not taken. It was simply offered as a possible way to improve. And quite honestly even the best show quilters who win all the time are striving to improve in some way or another.

As far as taking it to the manufacturer... The recommendation on the batting is the minimum distance needed to keep the batting from falling apart or bunching up between quilting lines, that is all. The manufacturer is making no recommendations of what actually looks good and will maintain the integrity of the piecing or keep the sections of unquilted fabric on the top or backing from becoming a wrinkled mess or skewed out of shape due to uneven shrinkage between batting and fabric. The manufacturer doesn't care if seams come apart due to the stress put on them of such a far distance. All they are suggesting is the minimum distance to keep the integrity of the batting itself, not the integrity of the piecing or the result batting shrinkage will have on large areas of unquilted space. If the OP had not put "the quilt police" in quotes with a little winky emoticon which means she meant it tongue in cheek would you be so defensive? The OP was merely attempting to offer some helpful advice that readers can take, leave, comment on with their own experience or move on.

IrishgalfromNJ

Can I ask which batting states it can be quilted with 10" of space between quilting lines?