Help with crosshatch quilting
 

I am hand quilting a quilt with 12" appliqued blocks around the outside edge that I am trying to crosshatch on the diagonal 1". I decided to use blue tape, but am running into difficulties. The blue tape slips and I can't get the crosshatch to come out even. How can I mark around the edge so that it comes out even? I have tried to pin the blue tape to hold it secure, but with little success. Also the blocks don't have sashing, so the lines have to match up perfectly from block to block. I started out by marking two lines on the block from corner to corner, then placing the blue tape against the marked line, then moving the tape against the quilted line, but it doesn't come out even when I get to the end. I have already spent hours trying to figure this out, quilting and requilting over and over on this block. I know you quilter's will be able to help me before I wear out the fabric and my patience.

I have used the thin 1/4" tape sold with quilting notions successfully. Lay it next to the ruler on the line you want to quilt. Because it is thin, it doesn't shift as much as a wide tape would. On flannel I was able to use a strip about 3 times before the sticky didn't work anymore. Of course, there are all sorts of marking tools discussed at length here on this board.

Have you tried marking with a Clover Hera marker?? I just finished crosshatching a quilt I marked with it.
http://www.joann.com/clover-hera-marker/9620873.html

I haven't tried a Hera marker. Would it work on a quilt that is already on the frame? How do you go about marking the lines so that they are accurate? If I were cross hatching on the square, it would be easy. On the diagonal, it is hard for me and I need to know how to do it.

I use 1" cream colored masking tape . You might want to mark it with one of those washout blue markers or a chalk pencil while the quilt is flat. Or change your pattern so each square is independently cross hatched. Hope this helps.

There is no way I can change the pattern. It is the William Morris and Friends quilt by Michele Hill and is now on the Grace Z44 quilting frame.

I am in love with a ruler and tailor's chalk. I don't know if that helps with this particular quilt but maybe for the future?

First, where to buy tailor's chalk and does colored tailor's chalk brush off easily? I appreciate the suggestion.

i bought a box of it on Amazon. I know Jinny Beyer also sells the Clover variety in her store in different colors. She was the one who recommended using the chalk on her BOM at Craftsy.
I have been using mine for a quilt -as -you -go project . I am using white on dark green batiks and it has been excellent when brushing off , but also good enough to stay on so that I can mark the entire block at one time. I will be back in a short bit to give you a link of the exact brand I am using. It's not Clover.

Here is a link to the exact brand I bought:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ilpage_o03_s00

Then this is what Jinny offers:
https://www.jinnybeyer.com/ax_commer...5C773F3A2DFAA9

p/s....read the Amazon reviews under the product I am using :)

Good luck!

I have never done 1" cross hatch, but the tape causes me problems as well. I mark with Crayola washable markers... but this will require that you wash the project. I would use a ruler or make a stencil that is 1" wide and use that to make your markings.

Thanks, that would be helpful. I just checked on Amazon and found the Clover Chaco. Because it is a tone-in-tone light fabric, I need to use a color--probably blue. There are a lot of reviews that say they can't remove the Clover Chaco blue chalk. That scares me enough that I want to use something else--something that brushes right off. I only need to mark one block at a time, then, I want to brush it right off. Anyone use a colored chalk that brushes right off?

if the fabrics are darker, i use a sliver of bar soap. when done, i just brush it off

I will be watching for the answer to your question as I have wondered about the colored chalks as well.

I have tried Sew Line pencils and Chaco Liners ( in white, only) and I didn't really like either. I do like the idea of soap. Now that is clever! I may try that soon. Thanks to whomever suggested that.

I use the Clover chaco liner for most of my marking. I have not used the blue but I have used the yellow with no problems. In fact, I used the yellow to mark my daughter's wedding quilt with a lattice grid but I <wink> cheated and used a stencil. I usually hand quilt and have a Grace EZ3 frame.

I so appreciate everyone's help. Where could I go to find such helpful advice? I think I have tapped into something that others struggle with in marking a quilt, so I hope the suggestions will help more than just me. When we get this solved, maybe someone can help me come up with the math to mark the cross hatch accurately. Also, it gives me some comfort that someone else has the same problems I do with blue painter's tape.

Dritz makes a purple marking pen that disappears by itself in a couple of days. If you are a slow quilter, it's probably not the best product, but it works for me.

I think she is trying to get help on how to measure between each sewn line on the diagonal to make it even. Oh, my, now I have gotten you into trouble. I sure can't help you. Where are our mathematicians?

The yellow, blue and red does NOT come off even when washing. There are many previous post of us who have had problems with this product not coming off. Try the 1/4 masking tape. That should help you the best. I do use the white clover powdered chalk and it comes off easily

On light fabrics I use a plain old mechanical #2 pencil. Dark fabric the Bohin version of the same thing witn white lead. Bohin does make other colors of lead for their markers as well.

As to spacing, have you tried using a long tape measure to sort of rough out your design over the larger area, put some 'registration ' marks where you need to line up your next set of quilting markings?

[QUOTE=ManiacQuilter2;7427479]The yellow, blue and red does NOT come off even when washing. There are many previous post of us who have had problems with this product not coming off. Try the 1/4 masking tape. That should help you the best. I do use the white clover powdered chalk and it comes off easily, /QUOTE]

I certainly won't use the colored chalk. I am using a mechanical pencil, but find that with a fabric eraser, the marks don't come out completely. I also have a Sewline pencil with ceramic lead and it doesn't come out any better. I am not sure how the 1/4" masking tape will help me with a 1" cross hatch. An explanation might help me visualize how that could be done. Thank you so much for your help. I suspect I am not functioning on all cylinders.

Thanks for the suggestion of a measuring tape. I will try it. I have been using my plastic omnigrid, but it is heavy and a bit unwieldy for this purpose. I used Bohin colors, pink and green, on another quilt. The color does finally fade when exposed to light, but it takes months. I also found I had to press really hard to make marks show. Thanks for helping. Thanks everyone for helping. I will get there. Determination wins.

tailor's chalk wasn't easy to remove for me-used yellow though.

The only thing I found that sticks well and can be repositioned, is strips of contact paper. I cut it the width I need, and reposition as needed, until it no longer sticks and start with a new strip. The backing is pre marked with a grid that helps me cut straight, and a roll is from $1 and up. The Dollar store where I live sells short rolls of contact paper so it is a cheap fix. It also comes in light and dark colors so it is easy to see. I haven't had any problems with residue when finished.

I have finally figured out how to accurately mark the crosshatch quilting pattern. My blocks are 12" square when finished. I cut them larger and after I completed the applique on each block, I squared them up perfectly, so my measurements are exact. There are twenty blocks around the outside perimeter of the quilt and the quilt is assembled and on my quilt frame. First, with my mechanical pencil, I marked a 1/4" line across the outside raw edge of each block--two sides of the corner blocks and one side of the rest of the blocks--so that I am marking a 12" square block. I determined that with a 1" diagonal crosshatch grid, the lines must begin 1 1/2" apart all around the outside of the block. I then made a pencil mark every 1 1/2" all around the outside of the block. Next, I matched the marks diagonally with my ruler and marked a line, moving across the block, then marking diagonally across the block the other way until the crosshatch grid is complete. This method insures that the next block around the quilt will match up perfectly. Whew! I don't know why it wasn't apparent to me from the beginning how to do this, guess I am just slow.

I use blue tape all the time for hand quilting. I don't use more than 9 or so inches of tape at a time. When quilting, the tugging of the quilting will tend to pull it loose. So sometimes I put a pin in it, in the middle of the tape, parallel to the edge of the tape.

My fabric shifts as I quilt. No matter how well I think I have it prepared for quilting. I've given up trying to be perfect. Having said that, for cross hatching, it is nice to have the lines actually line up. Most of the time they mismatch by a small amount. When I'm about 6 inches from where the end of the line I'm stitching on has to line up with the next line, I remove the tape (or get a frest piece). I put it back down about three inches from where I left off quilting, hold it down at the start point, then with my other hand line the end of the tape up with the next section of the line. Sometimes the tape will move off the stitching line you have marked a tiny bit, but where the tape picks up on the new section, it will be straight.

I know this sounds a little confusing, and it won't work for machine quilting.

If your talking about the Clover chaco liner ..... that statement is NOT true. I have used the yellow repeatedly and have had NO problems with it coming out in the wash. Now I can not believe that I'm the only quilter to use this and have good results with it washing out of a quilt.

I've had trouble getting yellow, pink, blue and green out of some white/light fabrics--I suggest you test on a scrap of your lightest fabric in your quilt. I use the blue, water soluble pens and have never had any problems--even on a white quilt. You just have to be sure to soak it to get it out completely.