stitch in the ditch, yes or no and why or how to decide?
 

Do you stitch in the ditch on every quilt? If so why? If not why? I haven't been doing so but then realized several post online talk about it and do.... I've made 5-6 quilts... now wondering..

i stitch in the ditch a lot - because i do not know how to do fmq - and i did not get many artistic genes.

i like the look of stitch in the ditch- and i do it well. i usually add some additional straight stitch quilting.

I'm interested in reading the replies to this thread.

I'm new to quilting and haven't SITD on any of my quilts. Two I did a grid pattern and two more I did a soft curve using my walking foot. I liked that a lot! I've washed all the quilts afterwards and all looks great. I'm not really sure or understanding why one should SITD

I did make a table runner that I didn't want a quilt pattern running thru (did I even explain that correctly?) so I did SITD the runner. Came out nice.

SITD looks very nice but I also love straight stitching about a quarter inch from each seam. It looks so old fashioned that way. I've never seen wrong or ugly quilting btw.

I found SITD to be very difficult for me to do well. I usually stitch 1/4 inch from seam lines because that is easier for me and looks cleaner.

I don't think you can categorically say that will happen.
A lot of quilts are FMQd allover-edge-to-edge, and yet ... the sashing stays true and straight.

Yes it can get distorted. But not always.

A lot depends on how the sandwich is made and how the quilter "stresses" the sandwich while FMQing.

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Originally Posted by Janinem (Post 8184601)

Do you stitch in the ditch on every quilt? If so why? If not why? I haven't been doing so but then realized several post online talk about it and do.... I've made 5-6 quilts... now wondering..

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Welcome to the QB, JanineM!

It's really a lot of personal preference in the look you want, and what works best for you.
For some, SITD is one of the hardest, as it can be tough to stay "in" the ditch.
For others, easy-peasy!

There is a technique the encourages SITD ESS (every stinking seam!) ... and then FMQing overtop.
Some like it, but for me, that is just way too much. Almost overkill!
Of course, than applies differently according to the patteren/design ... large? or small pieces?

If no-SITD is working for you ... then motor on with your own style!

i tend to agree with you. I rarely stitch in the ditch. I have a ditch foot. I have a walking foot. I don’t like using either one. If I must do it I use my FMQ foot and get better results. Or a ruler foot and ruler. Also I haven’t had distorted sashings. Maybe because I glue baste? I guess we all have to experiment and decide what works best for us.

SITD is largely based on personal preference. When Harriett Hargrave wrote her first edition of Heirloom machine quilting she recommended SITD as a way of stabilizing the entire quilt then going back to do the fun FMQ detail after the entire quilt had been stabilized by ditching. This was the recommendation for DSM quilting when the machine is not mounted to any sort of rack. With the advent of spray basting and glue basting the SITD step is not always necessary. If the quilt is entered in a large national show the judges do take SITD into consideration and will almost always award more points to a quilt that is ditched. Obviously this does not apply to quilts that have an all over E2E design.
Ditching does help to emphasize pieced blocks but that can be two edged sword. In some cases the ditching can sometimes hide less than perfect points but other times it can emphasize a shortcoming in the piecing. It can cause issues for quilt tops when seams are pressed open instead of to one side. In those cases there really is no ditch and often you are quilting over your piecing threads and may or may not compromise the quilts construction but if it is quilted sufficiently in other places it shouldn't have any detrimental effect. I do know of some LAQ that prefer to get the tops with seams not pressed open. Both Judi Madsen and Margaret Solomon Gunn have had blog postings about it and the possible negative side effects (pressed open seams).
In most cases I do prefer to ditch but not every single seam. As I stated above, it is largely personal preference for most people. When I hand quilted I never ditched but quilted 1/4"on either side of seams. When I quilted on my domestic I was out of the ditch more than in so avoided it. But once I got my LA I definitely ditch most of my own quilts and client quilts when budget allows or if I know the quilt will go into a show.