Stitch in the ditch sequences?
 

Hi Everyone!

I am days away from finishing my first ever quilt, a baby quilt for my new granddaughter. The quilt has large blocks which are 'outlined'with 2" (finished size) squares. I have attached a file showing a diagram of a section of the quilt. I want to do a basic 'stitch in the ditch' as my free motion is not up to scratch but I'm not sure if I should be following a specific sequence to keep the loose threads and beginnings and endings to a minimum? Do you think my stitching sequence as described on the attachment would be okay? Or is it normal practice to stitch over some seams twice? Worried about the second option as it means I would have to be 100% accurate and wouldn't it make the stitching stiffer? Help! What is the recommended route?

Many thanks!

Wish you could have posted a photo on the site. I don't like opening things on the internet especially pdf files. I have a very old computer.

You might be over thinking this but usually you do your basic outline of the blocks and then go in and try to do the detail stitching being FMQ or SITD. You do want to do as few stops and starts. Hope this helps. Good Luck.

Your sequence looks ok. I don't believe I would stitch down each side of the 2" squares. I am not sure it needs it.

First of all, you need to look at the batting packaging to see the maximum distance apart your quilting lines can be. Each type of batting has different requirements which you need to follow so that the batting doesn't bunch or deteriorate thru laundering & general use. With a baby or child's quilt, more is better because it will probably be laundered more frequently.
I always started in the middle & worked out to the edges to minimize shifting.

With a quilt that has lots of straight lines to quilt on, I wouldn't worry about having continuous lines. Anywhere your stitching finishes at the edge will be secured by the binding. I would stitch down the long lines through the middle, then go across, finally working in the smaller sections. This will help prevent the fabrics or batting from shifting. It looks like you have some large areas with no planned quilting....be sure that your batting is comparable....some battings need to be stitched every 2 inches!

I would crosshatch the whole quilt rather than stick to the lines. And the crosshatching doesn't have to be in the seams - easier to put it outside a bit.

When I do SID, I try to always work from one edge to another edge so there are no loose threads in the middle.

What batting are you using? That determines how far apart your quilting lines need to be.

SID does not have to be done on every single seam. Personally, I would not want to SID twice (one stitching line on top of another) to get from one place to another. If I had a pattern that required that, I would either secure the stitches at beginning and end (with 4 or 5 tiny stitches in a row, no backstitching) or leave long threads and hand-tie (and hide) the knots using a cheater needle:
http://www.leahday.com/shop/product/...r-threads-kit/

I like the idea of cross-hatching and also the idea of eliminating the side stitching on the small squares.

Edit: Took another look at your diagram. The quilting lines on the large pieces are highly likely to be too far apart for your batting. If you stick with your diagram, you will probably need to add quilting lines inside the large pieces -- could be cross-hatch or meander. No rules about this except that your quilting lines need to be spaced at least at close together as your batting dictates.

I totally agree!

Are you able to post a photo of the quilt itself?

When I stitch in the ditch, or do straight line quilting, I try to start at one side and sew across to the other side. That way all the thread ends are covered by the binding.

Not very creative, but it does the job.

For straight stitching I don't worry about it being continuous but rather concentrate on the design that I want. To secure the ends I leave the top and bobbin thread long when I start and cut then pull the top thread to the back, tie the two threads together and bury them in the quilt bat by threading them into a big eye needle and running it under the back layer.

With a small quilt you don't have to worry as much about how many times you have to turn your quilt when quilting which means wrestling it through the harp area of your machine. Larger quilts this is a consideration.

From looking at your diagram it doesn't appear that you have enough quilting to hold any kind of batting but as others have mentioned before read your batting instructions to see what distance you need to quilt at because your batting will shift when the quilt is washed.

I don't know how you have basted your quilt but in the future if you use safety pins you will want to keep your quilting pattern in mind when you are placing your pins so you don't have to stop and remove them along the way. I have pinned, thread basted and glue basted and by far glue basting is my favorite way to go. There are a lot of threads on here about school/washable glue basting.

I always use a walking foot for straight machine quilting. It really helps with the shifting. If your machine didn't come with one then there are after market ones that will work for around $25.00. Well worth having one.

If you are able to post a picture of your quilt then I'm sure you will get lots of advice on how to quilt it.

Added a pic!
 

Sorry about the delay in replying......been in bed for the past week with bad flu!

I've taken a photo of my quilt for everyone to get a better idea of how I should quilt it. The batting I am using is polyester. The largest of the applique blocks (the butterfly blocks) is 14" x 14". I was planning on outlining each applique and leaving the rest of the background plain? Should I rather do stippling in these areas? I don't want to quilt over the applique. Thank you everyone for your awesome input! It certainly helps me to see problems which I didn't spot on my own.......being a newbie, you know ;)

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You have 4 large rectangle areas without stitching and if that spacing is too much for your batting, I would quilt each of those areas with straight line quilting 1-2 inches apart. I would do 2 rectangle sections with vertical lines and 2 with horizontal lines. Example: upper left horizontal, upper right vertical, lower left vertical and lower right horizontal. These would complement your cross-cross pattern design. Use a walking foot.