I posted here about 2 months ago to get some advice on a quilt I was starting. Everyone was so helpful, I decided to seek your advice again. ;) I have completed the quilt top and backing. I have the quilt sandwich together ready to machine quilt. I plan on using a walking foot to "stitch in the ditch". I don't have a locking stitch on my machine, would it work if I bring the bobbin thread up and knot the two threads together and bury the ends into the quilt? Is there another method that would work better? Any help/advice is much appreciated! Thanks in advance.

That's what I do when I quilt on my old Singers.

Waiting for easier answers.

It would be easier to quilt from one edge of the quilt to the other so ends would be buried in the binding.

However, if you can't do that, you can certainly knot and bury the ends into the quilt. The easiest way to do that is to use a special needle that does not require threading; it has a little hole in the side so you can thread it that way. There is a video somewhere that demonstrates how to do this.

An alternative is to start and stop with perhaps 3 tiny, tiny stitches. This effectively forms a lock too.

I don't do SID anymore because I am too perfectionistic about staying exactly in the ditch. With a walking foot, I prefer to make softly waving lines (can even do this for cross-hatching) because there are no mistakes with it!

thanks, did you find the link to the video???

It was a Leah Day video. I think this is the one:
http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.c...g-threads.html

Leah Day has lots of good videos and advice for quilting. I even chose my new machine because of those videos. After reading all, I decided on the Juki 98 instead of a much pricier machine. That's what she used for her 365 days of quilt designs.

I think she sells those needles on her site, too. They're called something like cheaters, or whatever?? You thread your tails of threads onto that needle using a slot and then you can tie and bury the thread in the batting. Pretty clever.

Saw the Quilt in a Day show the other day where Eleanor Burns said to change the stitch length to zero and make 2-3 stitches, then change the stitch length back to normal length. It causes the machine to make it's own "knot". Personally, I like to pull the thread up thru and hold it out away from my stitching. After I'm done with that section, I make a knot with it, thread it thru a needle and bury the knot. That way the bottom thread doesn't get tangled up in the quilting.

I was doing that the other day and was having trouble rethreading the needle with my thread tails because I hadn't left them long enough. I'm going to try these needles to make it easier to rethread.

Thanks for this tip! I never thought of using those needles for burying threads. I see them all the time in Joanns for people who can't see the small holes. I'm out to get some!