I have had such good luck getting sewing questions answered here....everyone on this site is so helpful.....i have another one. I am stitching my top, batting and back together on my quilt, doing stitch in the ditch...and my concern is that I haven't got my quilt pulled quite tight enough and I am using just a regular sewing machine, no long arm....it kinda gets all bunched up and I'm worried that I will end up sewing parts of the quilt together that do not belong together and I'll spend hours sewing and removing thread...! Can I use a large embroidery hoop to keep my quilt tight..and will it make it easier to work with...thanks so much in advance

did you baste the 3 layers together? either with thread, spray, or pins?

Yes. I laid it out on my ping pong table, taped it so it stayed tight, and pinned it together. My problem is that I don't have a long arm, and I'm new to sewing a quilt together like this (stitch n the ditch). I thought using the embroider loop and doing a small section at a time might help me keep it from getting bunched up while trying to sew it.

you might want to invest in a walking foot. its basically feed dogs on the top too.

it helps to pull all 3 layers thru the machine at the same time.

i think they cost about $15.

I use a regular sewing machine to sew/quilt stitch-in-the-ditch. If you taped the backing then you should be OK. I check for wrinkles along the way and smooth them out and even repin if necessary. Mine have turned out fine, but they are not show quality.

Hi Sewingnewbie, check out the post I made awhile back. I had the same issue. Still do a bit. I've not got the walking foot yet, but hopefully soon.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/posts/list/16754.page I hope you find some ideas here that will help!

The last two I just quilted, my husband got me two pieces of trim board, which Sharon Schram...? demonstrated using in her video, about hand basting. And I hand basted both! I think it was mentioned in my link above, if not someone will know it, or search on utube for quilting.

Neither was still quite tight enough, but they were much better than my previous two! I had made a few before and don't remember having this problem before! lol!!!!
Diana :-)

I like to starch my backing fabric heavily before layering. Starch keeps the backing from puckering during machine quilting.

How far apart are your pins? They should be no more than 4 inches or so from each other.

If you are stitching in the ditch on long lines, I don't think the hoop will help you at all and might even make things worse. This is because you would have to re-hoop every 10 inches or so (depending on how big a hoop fits your sewing machine harp), and the re-hooping would have to be done with the presser foot in the middle. So much handling of the quilt sandwich is likely to introduce more distortion than if you didn't hoop.

A walking foot would likely help a lot, especially if you have no starched the backing fabric. I think the generic ones cost around $25.

The place on the back, where little tucks happen during the quilting process are called kisses, so they serve a purpose? <g>
I am not sure how you are working with your quilt in the sewing machine, but I have done fancy machine quilting on a portable sewing machine, and my sister in law, using a walking foot, does queen sized quilts, stitch in the ditch - quite handily with her sewing machine.
No quilting machine and frame? No problem .. quilters have been doing it this way for DECADES! so, <g> you will be fine.
One of the things I do is roll the edges of the quilt that is on the inside of the quilt, work from the middle out, what is in the throat area gets smaller.
I was watching Simply QUilts one day, and the lady that did machine quilting on her portable much better than I have ever gotten, said ... keep it fluffed up ... she didn't necessarily fold it or roll it, nor, did she have the quilt laid out flat and neatly ... she just made sure that the quilt was as loosely laid out as possible, so that the weight of the quilt was not dragging on the machine.
Following her lead, I keep the quilt sort of laying in my lap, over my shoulder, I lift it often to make sure that some fold hasn't gotten caught under the table, or in the leaves of the table ... and breathe!
I make sure that my sewing table is as close to a wall as possible so that the quilt can't escape away from me on the other side of my sewing machine. And, if I have to, I bring an ironing board off to my left side to help me support the quilt. The ironing board is cool because it can be level with whichever table I am using.
You will be fine ... <g> the secret to having few kisses on the back is to make sure you have pin basted enough (four to six inches) as others have mentioned. Let us know how it worked out for you, and any tips you picked up to succeed at your quilting!

Definitely invest in the walking foot! I can't believe I sewed for so many years without it. Now that I have it, I could never quilt without it! I also use it on other projects, such as purses and wallets. It makes all the difference in the world to me!

I spray baste mine too. It helps a lot. I still end up with a few "kisses" as someone called them, but very few. I also find it easier to "scrunch" up my quilt, rather than roll it. I seem to be able to maneuver it better to where I want it to go.

:)

"Scrunching! That was what I was trying to say! Thank you ... good team work! And, I will encourage the walking foot as others have spoken about. The first one I ever bought cost $35 .... now, they are less than twenty dollars in any sewing machine repair shop or even your local quilting store. The key thing you have to know about your sewing machine when selecting sewing machine feet is your shank (the place the foot is attached) ... it is a high or low shank ... Basically, if you want to machine quilt, a walking foot for straight lines, the hopping foot (or embroidery foot, or it might be called a darning foot) ... those two feet will allow you a great deal of freedom to develop your style. And, as a gentle reminder for anyone using the hopping foot - - BE CERTAIN that you have lowered your foot when beginning to quilt, or you will get loops and rats' nests on the back of your quilt like nobody's business! Ask me how I know <g> on second thought, trust me like your mother! :lol: