How Much Quilting is Enough
 

How do you know how much quilting is enough? Does it depend on the batting? Whether it's polyester or cotton? I know the packages have recommendations. But I buy by the bolt from Hobby Lobby and there is no label. I mainly quilt children's quilts for charity. So I want them to last, but also don't want to spend way too much time doing intricate quilting.
Any advice would be helpful.

Susan

Just remember the tighter the quilting the more it shrinks the quilt.
I only use 80/20 batting.
A large stipple pattern should do well.

If you know the manufacturer of the batting you're buying by the bolt (and I'm sure you do), you could look on the manufacturer's website to find the quilting recommendations. Any batting, I would think, should not need to be quilted more than 3-4" apart in each direction so a simple cross hatch should be good as well, I would think.

I find that the closer the quilting the stiffer the quilt. I like a soft quilt so I usually stay within the distance noted on the package. Check with the store about the kind you have for the recommended size. Have fun .

That's a good question. I have seen some quilts where the micro quilting makes it almost cardboard thin and about as stiff. Others where there is so little quilting, I wonder if it will hold together in the wash. I usually use a 80 20 batting. I have a tendency to do a meander about as big as a 3" puzzle piece. But then I am definitely a piecer not a quilter. Once a top is done, I quickly finish so I can start on another.

The batting I buy by the bolt from Hobby Lobby is Warm and Natural. If that is what you are buying, the instructions say every ten inches. I like my piecing to show more than I like the quilting to show, so this works really well for me.

Dina

The minimum is totally dependent on your batting. Read the packaging (or look on their web site). It clearly states how many inches/cm apart you can safely quilt. If you go beyond the maximum indicated, your batting can shift thru use and laundering and your quilt will be ruined.

There is the "enough" statement from the manufacturer which is the maximum distance between quilting lines AND there is the "enough" decision based on your own personal preference. I always quilt closer than the maximum recommendation. In my early days, I did only SID. Now I branch out with other quilt patterns. As I watch more tutorials on FMQ and practice more, I find myself putting in more design - particularly background design.

I use warm & natural which says, I believe, 8" apart. I usually go with 2-3" apart.

I like as little quilting as possible, which is my preference. I use batting that doesn't require dense quilting. While I appreciate the talent it takes to do some of the dense quilting, it isn't for me.