I need direction.....
 

Hi fellow quilters! I do most of my quilting by machine with a walking foot. Occasionally I have trouble when doing all over diagonal channels that the quilt gets out of square. I mean it get distorted and then it lays crooked when I get the binding on. Should I do all the stitches in the same direction? Or should I alternate first one way, then turn around at the same side and go back the other way? I tried loosening the tension, but that didn't help. I would love your suggestions!

I alternate directions when I channel quilt for this very reason. Plus it saves some effort as I can "go around the bend" and start back the other direction with less hassle.

Jan in VA

I'm with Jan. Anything that let's me keep going is how I do it, so I alternate directions.

The more different directions you can go in the better!

Agree with going into different directions. I use coloured pins to help guide me.

I was taught by Harriet Hargrave to stitch all lines from the center to the right toward you, then turn the quilt and repeat. That way all lines are stitched in the same direction on half of the quilt and the opposite direction on the other side. She stressed not to stitch back and forth. So, that's the way I do it.

So, do you mark all your lines? Then you go back to the middle, join the line and go the other way?

How close together are the lines of stitching? Do the stitching lines go in only one direction diagonally or do they cross over to make a grid?

I would ask how close are your pins? They should be a fist part. That is very close but the job of pins is to hold fabric as still as possible. More pins better.