Tips for straight line stitching?
 

I seem to have trouble with straight line stitching. My question is how do you manage straight line stitching? do you use rulers? Do you mark and then stitch? And, How about cross hatching? How do you make that straight line crosswise straight? Guides? I can be going along just fine and then boooooomm. Jerks to the right. Get back on the line and booom jerks to the left. Any solutions?

Are you talking about sewing or quilting?

I use a ruler and mark my quilts. Most quilters use a walking foot to keep the quilt from jerking. I don't have one. When I cross hatch I mark using a ruler and start in the middle working my way out to each side. This is the method that I came up with on my own. I will be interested in seeing the answers from other quilters. Happy Quilting!

I use a serpentine stitch so that my lines aren't so obvious when they aren't straight

Use blue painters tape to mark lines

I generally make a staright stitch when sewing but when I'm quilting is when I have a problem.

I use a ruler on my sitdown HQ16.....On my domestic, it was easier to do straight lines and I used painters tape to help with the line.

Aside from using blue painter's tape for marking, and a walking foot (helps a *lot*!), I heavily starch both backing and top before layering. Starch stabilizes the layers so they are much less likely to stretch and distort as you machine quilt. In my case, at least, heavy starching is imperative if I want to do cross-hatching; without it, I would get tucks and puckers when crossing over another line of stitching (because the fabric would have stretched as I worked with the quilt).

For backing fabric, I like a 1:1 solution of Sta-Flo liquid laundry starch and water, "painted" onto backing with a wide wall painting brush, toss in dryer, then iron with steam. This is quite a heavy starch solution. For the top I like to spray several layers of spray starch.

If your quilt is already layered, you can still add starch with the spray starch method. Lay quilt out on the floor on top of a large flat sheet to catch overspray. Spray from edges towards center to minimize overspray. Let dry (a fan speeds drying). Do this several times on one side, then flip the quilt over and do the same on the other side. This will make straight stitching (and especially cross-hatching) easier to accomplish without distortion. But, I would say a walking foot is almost a necessity too, especially for a large quilt.

How is your quilt supported while you sew? The best method is to suspend it. My best guess about the jump to the right and left as you sew is that it is caused by the weight of the rest of the quilt. When a quilt hangs off the side of a table, for example, it is putting stress on the area that you are sewing. This stress can increase or decrease suddenly as you sew when the weight shifts.

Edit: This is not likely, but some of the old battings had cotton seeds in them that could throw off the needle as you stitch. I don't think any of the battings currently on the market have this problem, but I suppose it's possible you are using an older cotton batting.

Are you talking about when you use your longarm? If it is your longarm, it sounds like you either have a high/low spot on your rails, the frame is not balanced, or there's a piece of lint on your wheels or rails. I use a short (6") strait edge guide, I get in trouble with a long one and do pretty well on the N-S and E-W lines, but struggle with diagonals.

It could be your machine settings... Does your machine have a way to adjust the pressure on your presser foot? You might need more or less pressure.

I don't mark anything, usually. It helps to sew really fast to keep the lines straight, especially if there is nothing to 'follow', such as in stitch-in-the-ditch. I always use a walking foot for my straight line quilting, so I don't have to fight the layers shifting.

I starch my fabric a little. I use the painter's tape and I also have the 1/4" tape. To be consistent I mark a "v" directed to the side I'm going to stitch. I quit throwing my starched fabric into the dryer. It was causing a build up and I don't need a fire. I use my ironing board which is adjustable and my extra wide board to help hold my fabric up so no drag. Just pull the ironing board up to the side of the sewing cabinet. I have round quilt clips that help hold the fabric in place. Works for me!

If your using a domestic sewing machine, I use my walking foot. It has the bars on it, and you only need to mark that first line.

I mark straight lines first. I mark all crosshatching then use a ruler to follow the straight lines. Works for me.

I'm in the middle of taking a Craftsy class from Cindy Needham. She says with straight lines it is ok to be inconsistent--if you are consistently inconsistent it creates interest. And her work does look good. Of course this only works in smaller spaces, I think.

This class is the best thing I've done in quilting. Repeating lessons, going back to find out if she 'really said that' any time I want. One class and I'm sold on Craftsy AND Cindy Needham.

I mark my crosshatching with painter's tape or a Hera marker by Clover (sold in JAF). You always want to mark your center seam so you always refer to it to keep your lines straight.