I'm doing a wall hanging that's 21 inches wide by 29 inches long. The batting says to quilt 1-4 inches apart. Do I need to follow this for something this small? My background fabric is the ocean with waves and I don't really want to clutter it with a lot of quilting. One area unquilted is the length of the wallhanging by 6 inches wide. This has a nautical theme and I really don't know how I would quilt it if I had to.

If the wallhanging gets washed it may get lumpy. That would be my concern.

As a wall hanging you might not ever machine wash it. If you did it might get lumpy and out of shape.

agree!

Its going to be a problem if you machine wash and dry it. the batting will probably lump up. If you are not going to machine wash and dry it it shouldnt be a problem. Just wash by hand and lay flat to dry when need be!

I'd quilt half-way between the 1-4 in. On the 6 in. border you could quilt anchors, sailboats, waves, or a rope design. Use your imagination with the nautical theme.

if the item will be laundered it is important to follow the quilting guidelines- if it will not be laundered it will not matter- many people making wall hangings do not bother with batting unless they need the (loft) to help show quilting detail. often just a layer of muslin or flannel is enough.
any project that will be laundered needs to be quilted to the recommendations on the batting if you want it to last. you can buy batting that allows up to 10" between quilting lines.
if you choose to use the batting you have and not quilt to specifications you should probably add to the label that the item is not washable- so someday down the road someone does not toss it into a washer- without knowing better

Thanks so much. It's a cute wall hanging with pieced crabs but certainly not heirloom quality. It's for a beach condo. I'll just go ahead and enjoy it. Doubt that it will be washed.

4" is really far apart. You could quilt just a few waves in the ocean. I agree that if you're not going to wash it then it probably won't matter, but I would probably quilt it at least 4" apart anyway.