Yes, I think it's having both a top and bottom thread and no space between stitches that makes machine quilting feel stiffer! I don't believe a handquilted quilt would feel stiff no matter how densely quilted, because either top or bottom you always have that space that isn't stitched.

I am with wannabe, I like to see the design details of the quilt. Sometimes quilts are so densely quilted that it seems to change the design of the quilt. I have seen some quilts that I have had to almost do a double take to determine the design. So for me personally I like a medium density quilting, especially for the drape.

My dilemma is that my personal preference is for less dense quilting but now that I am working on my free motion I tend to do it more densely. I think because I am practicing. Maybe when I evolve I will do less dense again.

Hand or machine, I like my lines about an inch apart. Which to me is lightish-medium :)

I agree with medium as too dense seems to make the quilt stiff and we don't want to lay under a quilt that's stiff as a board do we?

I like light to medium quilting density as I stitch in the ditch, simple FMQ, or use my embroidery machine to quilt. That said, most of my quilts are NOT frequently washed, so maybe as time goes on I will find the downside of light quilting. I prefer to have the piecing and design be the focal point rather than the quilting. But maybe that is a differnce between someone who likes to make the tops, and someone who likes to quilt. I very much enjoy and appreciate high density quilting, and the beautiful designs I see from quilters. Just not something I can do. I have never sent a quilt out to be quilted either.

My dilemma is that my personal preference is for less dense quilting but now that I am working on my free motion I tend to do it more densely. I think because I am practicing. Maybe when I evolve I will do less dense again.

I have found that both the type of thread used and the type of batting used affect drape a lot.

For example, Warm n Natural batting is considerably stiffer in drape than other cotton battings, undoubtedly because it is needle-punched through scrim. It softens up a little with each washing, but probably will always have a stiffer drape than other cotton battings. Older cotton battings had no permanent bonding in the fibers, were not needlepunched, and had no scrim. Years ago I hand quilted a baby quilt using Mountain Mist premium 100% cotton (what would be considered a vintage type of batting - I do not recommend it because it was difficult to hand quilt!) that was much used over the years. After 10 years of machine washing/drying regularly, I had an opportunity to handle that quilt and could not believe how soft it was. It felt like a cloud! All cotton battings will soften up with washings, but those old style cotton battings soften up a lot more than Warm n Natural would.

I have also found that dense quilting on its own does not necessarily stiffen a quilt, independent of the batting. I once stipple-quilted by machine a small doll quilt using 50wt cotton thread. It came out stiff as a board! Cotton thread is stiffer than polyester thread. If I were to have used a 60wt Bottom Line polyester thread and quilted as densely, the doll quilt would have remained soft. Aside from the looks, I think the 100wt silk thread used by show quilters for dense quilting probably has a similar effect, although I have not handled a quilt like that to know for sure.

I agree that hand quilting, even when dense, allows a quilt to remain soft. Compared to machine quilting, only half as much thread is used. This is probably why cotton thread when used in hand quilting does not stiffen a quilt the same way machine quilting with the same thread would.

In other words, density of quilting is only one of the factors affecting how a quilt feels and drapes. I would guess that batting type and thread type/size play just as much a role.

I would call mine medium/large. My lines must average at least two inches apart. I would call an area the size of the palm of my hand a little large - but I have very long hands, so that's may not be a good measure. I have done a tight stipple - it's what my daughter wanted on a wallhanging, but I didn't like it. No, it was my wallhanging, but she wanted it when I couldn't stand the close quilting.

I'm with you, bearisgray. I don't like the quilting to be the main focus. I like the piecing to stand out more, maybe because quilting is my least favorite part of the process.

Leslie