Machine Quilting Density?
 

Do you have a preference for how much stitching (quilting) your quilts have for a quilt used for covering oneself (bed/couch/lap)?

I think "medium" would be my preference - stitching close enough together so that the layers don't shift and far enough apart so that the quilt can drape/bend.

I consider "art" - for looking at only - quilts to be another category.

I think medium too. dense quilting doesn't seem to let the quilt drape as well and makes it heavier too. still, I love that look also. but for me, medium works well.

Same here, medium. I usually don’t do fluffy quilts, and too much quilting like pebbling is attractive but makes the quilt somewhat stiff even after washing.

I don't care for overly dense quilting but enough to keep stress off of the stitches when the quilt is used. So I say between medium and dense.

Light to medium. My utility quilts (for the couch, for picnic blankets, etc) get as little machine quilting as I can get away with without the layers/batting shifting when washed. For bed quilts I hand quilt up to medium density. Heavy density quilting is not my bag, at all.

I think density is in the eye of the beholder... If you have someone else do the quilting, pick from a sample or panto they have. Another option would be to have the quilting so many inches apart.

Light to medium for sure. I don't care for the stiffness of heavy quilting. It is beautiful tlhough.

I prefer a large meander.

I'd say medium to dense for hand or machine quilting.
I have some antique quilts that are very densely hand quilted and are stunning.

Medium here too, about like most pantos. Don't like the stiffness of dense quilting.

Medium here too. I do have the quilter add another layer of batting in the EMB machine quilts. It gives a nice poof and they're usually decorative ones.

Please do not discount dense machine quilting!!

Dense machine quilting can have a nice drape, bend, and feel to it.



My preferences to FMQing vs. straight line quilting and the densities of each,
vary according to the quilt, and what it is calling for!

As do my choices of fabrics, battings and threads used.

I am just getting into FMQ and I am letting the quilt tell me what it wants. Not a fan of microstippling and really tight quilting but everything else goes.

Remember the batting tells you. It will say how close or far you can quilt. Some are 3-4" and some are 8", so be sure you know when you plan your design.

I look at the fancy dense quilting and admire it but I never do it myself. I prefer seeing my piecing design.

I prefer a more open quilt design to let the quilt drape nicely.

As I mentioned above I have some antique quilts that are densely quilted by hand and they drape beautifully. I've never densely quilted by machine but from seeing some they do seem stiffer.

I vote for medium quilting here also. Less quilting allows for the batting to loosen and shift and those overly quilted ones with every inch quilted are pretty to look at, but wouldn't want one if it were given to me.

I have two handquilted whole cloth bed quilts-not done by me/acquired thru estate sales-and they are quite densely quilted, but do drape easily....I think dense machine quilting may have a more stiff drape because stitches are two threaded and one after another.......just a thought......

How are we defining medium? I try to aim for at least 1/2" to 1" of space in an all-over FMQ design. Since I can't machine quilt without using my Martelli gripper ring, I can't do larger designs where I'd have to smoothly move over a large distance, as I am always stopping to shift the ring.

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

Yep. I saw a quilt once displayed in a shop that was so puckered from the every-half-inch quilting that you couldn't make out the piecing OR the quilting design.

Also a sample that an instructor had quilted every 1/16 inch or so that was stiff as cardboard.

I like a lighter quilting for bed quilts, medium/heavier for wall hangings.

Watson