Stitching help please
 

Hello
I have not done a lot on quilting in the past and need some advice on a quilt I am making for my niece. My quilt is made up of squares, 5in x 5 in. 6 squares across and 8 squares down. It is an ABC theme. I need some help on whether I am best to quilt each square individually or have a "up and down and across" free motion style. I realise this comes down to personal preference but I would be grateful to get some advice/opinions.
Thank you
Bev

Either way will work. It really does come down to preference. I like more of a pattern when I am quilting, whether it is the whole row or each individual block. Not having enough quilting is not good. As the quilt is moved or tugged, the quilting stitches will tend to pop. I've had that happen. Too much makes the quilt stiff. Regardless of what the batting says as to how far apart you can quilt, I always don't have more than 2 or 2 1/2 inches between seams.

These pantos are typically used for a longarm machine, but could be simplified for a home machine. https://www.sewthankful.com/BasicPantos.html

I personally like the individual square quilting for that size block. I like a 1 3/4 inch quilting line spacing as it keeps the blocks a bit puffy. I do sew each seam to stablize the seam but those are the only full seams top to bottom and side to side. Also I do the first--center-- block top to bottom and the 4 around it side to side. I sew them on the machine after I've basted everything by hand in an embroidery hoop. Hope this gives you some ideas.

Thank you, the patterns all look great. I live in NZ though so shipping is likely to be too costly.

Personally I would rather quilt loop-de-loops and hearts than straight lines, they're much easier to do. Or maybe wavy lines. Straight lines are hard to keep straight and even, and they reveal every piecing boo-boo.

Not all of them have to be shipped. Urban Elementz has over 2000 pantos you can purchase and print on your own printer.
https://www.urbanelementz.com/quilti...ategory_ue=262

Reading the posts I can see that I did my last quilt wrong by not having enough quilting. I also had trouble with some of my straight lines. I like the idea of loop-d-loops or hearts. Thank you for the link to the digital pantos I will download some to try.
I appreciate all your replies and help, thank you

I like echo quilting in the squares or alternating squares with some other pattern. How densely you need to quilt depends on your batting so be sure and check it.

I do the orange peel design on quilt blocks often. https://www.sharonhollanddesigns.com...uilting+Design

You could just use the pantos as inspiration and draw your own lines to quilt by. The pantos are designed for longarms and would be a large cost to buy enough to quilt a whole top. Good luck!