Should I ditch the stitch-in-the-ditch?
 

Do you stitch in the ditch around square or rectangular blocks when you start quilting? I always thought this was good for "anchoring" the quilt down before doing other stitching like FMQ. But now as I look at my latest quilt, it seems like overkill so after I am done with all the FMQ I have decided to pull all of these early stitches by hand (yes a very tedious process) because they seem to make the quilt look worse otherwise.

Should i reconsider my strategy or ditch the stitch in the ditch?

Personally, I would do one or the other. If you're going to FMQ, I doin't think SID is at all necessary.

It's all personal and dependant on what look you want and like.

Another time, if you're wanting to anchor your quilt, but not keep the stitching ... you could use water soluble thread and it will just melt away when you wash it! :) Plus you wouldn't have to SITD .. could be anywhere!

I don't use anchoring stitching unless it will eventually be part of the final design. If you have used basting spray, or washable school glue for sandwiching/basting your quilt, the anchoring stitches are unnecessary as the fabrics will not shift. But I do like the idea of water soluble thread....why can't I ever have those brilliant ideas?

For me, the answer is "it depends". If I'm doing an all over FMQing design like meandering, stippling, or circles, pantos etc. I don't SITD first. But, if I'm doing different designs in different areas of blocks or more intricate, smaller FMQing I do SITD first to anchor the blocks. This is for sure more custom, labor intensive work. But, if I'm putting more quilting on it, in a smaller area I want to be sure there aren't any puckers or shifting.

if you want to stitch to anchor your quilt use wash out thread so when you wash your quilt the anchor stitches would be gone

I've never stitched in the ditch before quilting - that's what pins are for. I've never had a pucker on the back yet.

I just took a Craftsy class by Cindy Needham and she recommends "ESS" (stitching in the ditch, every stinking seam) even if you're doing fmq stitching. She did some samples with and without, and I have to admit, it did anchor them nicely and did make the end product look great. I just did it with my current king size project and trust me it was NOT fun (and I probably won't do it again). It took me forever and it is not my favorite thing to do! It did turn out nice though and this quilt actually needed quite a bit of it anyway, so not a waste.

I also bought some of that wash away thread, but my thought was to use it to stitch one of those fmq practice panels. This way I can use the panel multiple times (its not the wash out kind) and not waste backing and batting.

Yes, many long time FMQing experts recommend this.

I learn so much from all of you! Never would have thought about wash away thread for this purpose. I've used it when doing trapunto. Also like the idea of using it on a practice panel! Thanks for all the hints.

Leah day touches on this. She uses it to give dimension and also to practice travel stitching. She uses the Hopper foot which makes it take less time plus you avoid presser foot tension issues, which is nice. I always got puckering. SITD has its place. Its much more impressive when you combine it with other design elements though, IMO.

Using Water Soluble Thread
 

Question: If I were to baste a quilt with water soluble thread every 6-8 inches in each direction, would I then be able to do machine quilting from edge to edge rather than from center to edge? Please say yes!
I really dislike having to bury all those threads in my quilts. I'm already anxious to hear from you.
Marilynsue ;)

This is certainly a personal decision. I have always SID on sashing and blocks when I feel the quilt needs it.
I find that seams stay straight and sashing doesn't wobble and get crooked looking if I SID first. Sometimes it isn't needed though. For me it depends on the quilt.
peace

I took the same C Needham class at Craftsy, and SITD ESS on my current project. I love how it turned out, and will probably do the same for the rest of my projects

Although I am not an expert, I agree with Candace.

If you are going to remove the stitces later, I would hand baste to anchor the block, then just pull the threads out. Otherwise you have to remember that you SITD is going to show as part of your quilting. Its really a matter of choice

A recent quilt I finished featured a lot of diagonal lines. I did not want the verticals and horizontals in the final pattern, but knew that I needed to stabilize the quilt prior to the diagonal lines in hopes of keeping it somewhat square. Water soluble thread was definitely helpful for that - allowing me to stitch near the ditch first, and then I could focus on the other long seams without issue. Same for the smaller in-block designs.

Cheers, K

I make my fmq practice panels into potholders, so there's no waste.

I don't STID, I can't do it well and it looks awful. I prefer to do an all over meander for things like log cabin quilts and such.

I too took Cindy's class and will do ESS from now on. It really does make a difference in holding everything in place.

Harriet Hargrave also sets her straight lines with SID.

@Marylinsue: I wonder how much the layers would be able to shift around the SID. Never gone outside in but then I've nver used washable thread to baste either. Clever girl, you! I'd give it a try. One of the tutorials by Jenny Doan shows her daughter quilting from the edge inward. It was a small quilt but still.......

I am working on a smallish (42 x 42 inch) quilt at present and I SITDed the main lines before doing some wavy lines freehand on the background areas. I like how the shapes stayed pretty crisp and there is no puckering. I plan to use this technique again, but I do need to find ways to break thread less often.

I seldom use SITD because I would get puckers no matter how many safety pins I used, and that became a moot point once I started machine quilting on a frame. The other day I needed to use the SITD to help out a friend with her project. We used Elmer's washable glue to baste the batting and the backing together. That worked like a dream with the walking foot. We were impressed how smooth the back turned out. Guess I will be donating all those pins to the next silent auction!

Stitch in the ditch is something I never do .An old quilter told me that it cuts way to many threads and one should sew threads away from the ditch or an eighth in away.

I generally only stitch in the ditch if I'm going to free motion quilt very heavily. Sometimes really dense quilting will really distort your quilt...otherwise I do one or the other! ;)

WHY only use to baste Back and Batting together?

The only quilting on my friend's project was the three lines of SITD on each side, around four little blocks and an applique. We wanted to avoid stippling, etc. so that it would look more like a banner than a quilt. We were concerned the glue would seep through the front since the fabric is a solid color, not a print. Not only that, but also there were no plans to wash it since it was to be a wall hanging. I find a very light touch is all that is need to apply the glue..we did drizzling far apart and it was enough to hold the batting and backing together nicely for the DSM. I have used the glue to match seams, etc. but not basting. It really does work, smile. This is in response to Reply #26.

Wash away thread is my vote!

I love Elmer's glue for basting now. Tried it once and it was an instant love affair! I even like the subtle smell of Elmer's...takes me back to my childhood! LOL

I prefer the feel of a quilt with less quilting rather than more, so I seek out batting that only needs quilting 8-10 inches and do as little SITD as possible on MOST of my quilts, but then I don't FMQ on top of that. The very few FMQ quilts I've done have been glue basted.

I'm still pretty terrible at FMQ but it sure is a lot more fun than SITD. I haven't had any problems with breaking threads doing SITD but that might just be because I have terrible control and rarely actually am IN the ditch! I saw a picture of a quilt (on here, probably) that was done in SITD style but about a quarter-inch off of the seam; I thought that looked very nice and will probably try that soon. I think that would help hide how wobbly some of my lines are, LOL.