First Quilt Ever!- What now?
 

Finished piecing my first quilt.... This is a quilt for my best friends baby (I just found out she's pregnant for the first time). What color should I make the boarder. Would stitch in the ditch be an ok way to quilt this? What kind of batting should I use?

Your thoughts would be much appreciated!

WOW ! fabulous job for your first quilt! it's gorgeous!!!

Great quilt! I'd do a plain border, picking out one of the colours you like from the blocks. Alternatively, if you want to keep the celestial theme, dark navy.

SITD is fine for quilting, but a lot of quilters find it very difficult to stay precisely in the 'ditch'. Some people find it easier to do a wavy line which criss-crosses their lines. Try a small sample first, to see what you prefer and how easy you find it.

As for batting, it's a matter of personal preference/budget. The most luxurious (ergo expensive!) is silk, followed by wool, cotton or bamboo and finally, polyester.

Re batting - I prefer 100% cotton Quilter's Dream myself (there are 3 weights - Request, Select and Deluxe) or a bamboo, bamboo/cotton blend. Warm and Natural is very popular, but be careful you lay the correct side against your top or you may get 'bearding', especially on the darker bits. Happy quilting! :)

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I agree that this is an amazing job for a first quilt! Great job. I prefer 100% cotton batting myself. For all, not just baby quilts. It will tend to give the 'crinkly' look when washed as it does shrink. Most cotton battings, I don't believe, lend themselves to being pre-shrunk. I use Warm & Natural as I have an entire roll of it, but if not, would probably go with the Quilter's Dream brand. It does have a very nice drape and hand to it. W&N allows quilting up to 10" apart. Not sure of other batts, so you may want to check out that aspect as well, once you've determined your quilting pattern.

As to border...I might go with a lighter color, just to pick up some of those shades and make them 'pop' a bit. With the job you've done here though, I'm sure anything you decide will be lovely.

Wow! That is stunning. It looks like a day dream that Neil Degrasse Tyson might have! You must have had fun/great frustration selecting the placement on the fabric for the points. That red center one looks just like some of the distant photos crom Hubble!
I think that baby is destined to be a scientist!
If you do a meandering quilt pattern you can point out that it is repeating fractal pattern, apropos for the astronomical theme.

Thank you!!!! I never knew this.

this was my first thought, too :thumbup:

Love that stack and whack. Fabulous. Want to see more!!

I agree!! Wow. Beautiful first quilt!

You finished that quickly! It looks great.

Please post another picture when you get the borders on. --- I would go with dark…navy.