amount of quilting
 

After reading Gildan's message about the amount of machine quilting making a quilt stiff, I wonder if machine quilting with minimal stitching on a domestic machine such as stitch in the ditch (10 stitches per inch or so) would give a similar soft feel. Your thoughts please.

My thoughts are. . .

that I get so tired of the old line about lots of quilting making a quilt stiff.

That is simply not the case in my experience. I quilt heavily -- like 1/4 to 1/2 inch apart all over my quilts and they have a lovely soft drape. The choice of fabrics and batting plays some part, as does the weight of thread, but really, what will it take to get this idea out of y'alls heads that heavy quilting equals stiff?

I completely agree with RST. I quilt fairly densely, because I like the look, and my quilts are not stiff. I think people have jumped to this conclusion without actually having the opportunity to feel a densely quilted quilt.

Heavy quilting means less puff (i.e., a flatter quilt), because you're compressing the air out of the batting with your stitching. These flatter, less puffy quilts don't feel as squishy as a lightly quilted quilt. Maybe that is what people mean by 'stiff'.

A large-piece quilt with high-loft batting machine-stitched only in the ditch comes out quite puffy and airy.

In thinking about the purpose of the quilt, dense quilting that compresses the air out of the batting will reduce the insulating qualities of the quilt so that it is not as warm. This might be a plus In a warm climate and a negative in a cold climate.

I wondered that too -- does more dense quilting make a quilt less warm?

If that proves to be true, then I should quilt DH side of the quilt really dense and my side minimally. Just thinking;)

It just depends on what YOU prefer. I prefer the LOOK of hand quilting when I approach machine quilting on my Bernina. I don't prefer the minimalist nor the heavy quilting. I like the quilting to enhance my piecing, not to be a distraction.

I am going to challenge the theory of lightly quilted, puffy quilts being warmer too. Not in my experience. Maybe the puffy comforter style quilts stay on you in bed easier, or you prefer the lighter feel, but actual warmth? I'd want to do some scientific evaluations to see measurable difference .

It has a lot to do with what kind of batting you are using. If you like high loft, poly batting, then you will have a puffy quilt and it will be quite warm, and generally, that poly-batt is not best served with a lot of quilting. That's why people liked poly batting so much in the 70's and 80s -- freedom from quilting requirements.

But now there's a more widely-held aesthetic of quilting where the quilting is an intrinsic part of the design, and to showcase that, cotton blend, lower loft battings and finer threads work beautifully and result in warm but highly drapable quilts.

If you want a lot of poof, like a comforter, then quilt only the most minimal amount prescribed on the batting-- like 18 inches. Or tie the quilt. Replicate what you see on a store bought comforter from Ikea or Target. Usually quilters are not aiming to make comforters, though.

Certainly warmth isn't the only purpose for a quilt. However, if warmth is an issue, insulating properties of the batting is important. A law of physics is that trapped air conserves body heat. That is why wool is warm. Wool fibers trap a lot of air. Down also traps a lot of air. If the air is compressed out, the quilt will not provide as much warmth as a quilt with more trapped air. That is my understanding of physics. Perhaps someone else interprets this law of physics differently than I do. We make quilts to our own likes and needs and they are all beautiful and functional in their own unique way.

This scientist agrees with Genden. The first consideration is the batting. Is it naturally fluffy like most wool batting a (trapping air) or naturally flat like Warm and Natural? The next consideration is the amount of quilting to leave the fluff. Light quilting on Warm and Natural might equal the warmth of heavier quilting on wool. In other words, it isn't an equation with one variable.

Pam

I am from 'old school' and I like fluffy tied quilts but that doesn't take away from those who love beautifully done machine quilting no matter how closely quilted. I live in far northern WI and warmth in the winter is my priority so I have been ordering what they call Fat Batt on the internet. It is more like a comforter batting and isn't heavy. I have hand quilted one bed size quilt for each grandchild and some for myself and those are more show pieces. I no longer am able to do that because of arthritis in my hands but Jan has given me some advice on how to hand quilt with big stitch so am now attempting a Christmas quilt using that method. I do not have the ability to machine quilt nor do I have the income to have it done so need to do what works for me. I love looking at all the beautifully done machine quilted quilts on this site and I say kudos to you ladies who are so fortunate.

EXACTLY. Creating a quilt has so many elements that one part should not overshadow the work put into the rest. There is the design with the piecing and the design of the quilting. Why bother going to all the work of the piecing only to overshadow that with another design not meant to highlight or show off the piecing? My special sadness is to see an embroidered quilt that has taken hours and hours to create by hand that has then been machine quilted and perhaps not even to enhance all the meticulous embroidery. It's being consistent that all elements of the quilt work together to create a beautiful work, not overshadow any of it. Would you serve prime rib on paper plates with plastic table service? It all works together!

I don't like heavy quilting because sometimes it obscures the design/pattern of the quilt. If I take time to do an applique quilt I like for the applique to stand out not be overwhelmed by the quilting. Just saying.

while more dense quilting, especially if done with an all cotton thread or thicker poly, will be weightier, but that does NOT mean it's going to be less warm. One of my warmest quilts has a dense panto and we end up kicking it off the bed so only use in deep freeze winter. The batting is the real determinant of warm based on it's thermal properties--meaning its ability to move heat "back and forth". Poly bat has no thermal property--it doesn't breath at all, so it keeps all your body warmth in--which would be fine for really cold sleep quarters. Cotton (and cotton/poly) has good thermal qualities (less with poly in the blend). Wool has great thermal qualities.

It seems to me that regardless of whether hand or machine quilted, it should always be done to enhance the piecing. So, for example, applique may be encircled with tighter quilting to make the applique really pop; a patchwork pattern that has very complex blocks may be best quilted by a panto that does not stand out in the design, etc.

And dense quilting does not have to appear "flat"--often quilters will double the bat to give it more depth, or use wool bat on top of a cotton/poly bat, etc.

Total agreement here! I always quilt my quilts closely and am convinced it is the batting that makes the difference! I used a bat given to me by a friend once and while I wouldn't call it stiff, it was not as soft and sweet as my usual cotton bat.

Now I know why my dogs prefer poly batting in quilts to sleep on. I prefer warm and natural.