About to start 1st quilt! Question about stitch choice
 

I'm so excited to start the top part of my first quilt. It's a gift for my daughter's first birthday :) I'm doing a simple jelly roll pattern:

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What type of stitch do I use for the top? Just a basic one? I want to make sure it holds up over the years. Also, at the beginning and end of each row (I'll just be joining two strips together and sewing them straight from one end to the other) do you do the reverse stitch to lock it in place or do you just sew straight across and then tie the ends of the loose thread on both sides? Can you tell I'm new to sewing as well? lol

Love the Pattern. Just use a regular straight stitch to join the rows. No need to tie off tge threads or backstitch since you'll eventually sew a perpipendicular line to all your seams. Good luck! It will be gorgeous!

Thanks wattse :) I may not do the border in the pattern shown. I may just do the strips straight across to the binding. Will I still be sewing a perpendicular line if I don't add the border? I'm going to check out some videos too. Also, do I sew 2 strips together and then press that seam flat or is it recommended to press the fabric before even sewing?

The Jelly roll race quilt takes longer than just putting the strips together. Sew with a 1/4" seam allowance along the length of the pieces. You can either press the seam to one side as you go or wait until you are finished. You do not need to backstitch because you are sewing a binding on and it will lock the stitches. Good luck.

Really like your quilt. What pattern did you use for it?

Search this site for previous posts about sewing long strips together. For example if sewed in the same direction you could have "bowing" in the finished top. I like to press seams after each row is sewed on. I know this takes a bit longer but for me it is easier to press progressively rather than flip and turn the larger piece. Also, i can tell if the bowing is happening.

Congratulations - your quilt is beautiful. Great job for your first quilt. I agree with Wattse2000. Your daughter will truly love it.

! have that exact same pattern. I would join 2 rows together at a time at first. Then add the 2 rows to 2 rows, etc. I am sewing from each side. I love the sashing and extra rows outside the sashing. So much prettier than the one hour quilt, Jmho!