I need advice
 

I am making a baby quilt with a large applique in the middle of it. I intend to quilt it by just diagonal stitching. I really don't want to quilt/stitch over the applique. Most batting recommends no more than about 4" between stitching.

How do I handle this? Can I hand sew some of the batting to the applique before I put the backing on?

I just don't know what to do. Any advice is appreciated!

Sue

there are a number of battings that allow up to 10" between quilting lines- like warm & natural and dream poly....maybe one of those would fit your needs better. you can quilt the appliqued block first- then add it to the quilt= it will mean it will be *puffier* in the final quilt-which may be quite nice.

I agree with Tartan - you really should stitch somewhere within the applique to hold it down. It doesn't have to be machine quilted, you can hand quilt it if you think that would look better.

If the applique has several parts to it instead of 1 solid piece...you can stitch in the ditch along some of the lines and it looks fine. Can you post a picture?

You could do outline quilting around the applique pieces. As for the grid, many grids stop at the applique, skip the applique and pick up the grid line once past the applique. You would need to mark the continuation of the line with a ruler. I use batting that requires a minimum of 10" between lines but that is way too wide for me. I prefer my quilting lines closer together.