Warm & White is this enough quilting?
 

I have Warm & White batting in this quilt. I have straight line quilted 6-1/2" apart at a 45 degree angle.

The packaging on the Warm & White says can be quilted up to 10" apart. When I measure in every direction on the lines that I have quilted the distance is <10" before I hit another line.

Do you think this is enough quilting?

I don't want to sew straight lines the other direction because so often I end up sewing in puckers as I meet the previously sewed line. What do you guys think?

I don't think it's going to be enough.. The 10" is in ALL directions, so you will need something in the other direction. Either lines of quilting or ties.

I think you may need more too. You have unquilted areas between the quilted lines the full diagonal length of your quilt. If you don't want to cross hatch, I would at least add another diagonal line or two between the ones you have already done.

You may want to do the quilting as crosshatching across the entire quilt (i.e. just do the diagonals in the other direction as well and at the equal distance).

Another option is doing stitch in the ditch for each block and then you could just do the one direction of diagonals. Do the SITD in invisible thread. It will secure the quilt, but not be obvious.

perhaps a wavy line between the straight lines? I did that on one and it turned out nice. no crossing lines (or puckers) but the batting is secured more completely. If waves don't work, maybe a zig zag? Either way, stay about an inch or so off of the straight lines so you don't crowd them visually

Be careful sewing thru any of the thick paint on the t-shirts. It can really screw up your machine. I agree with others, you need crosshatching in both directions. You really don't want your batting shifting especially with that heavy of a quilt.

Thanks everyone for your responses. That is why I asked - - I don't want to make a bad decision

I used to have that problem. It was because I wasn't quilting in quadrants. Your cross lines will turn out better if you start at the center & sew to the edge. Then, break thread & go back to the center & sew from the center to the other edge. Go to the upper right quadrant, starting always on your line that is near center & sewing out to the edge. When you finish, return to dead center & start the next quadrant. That will push the "bubbles" out to the edge rather than trapping it at the intersections.

You want the same spacing for horizontal and vertical lines & generally 4" spacing is the most you would want between lines (horizontal & vertical) if you plan to wash it. I've done less a couple times with my early quilts and the batting bunched & stitches then started coming undone. Also, Heather Thomas (National Quilting Circle) did fabric studies with quilting density & washing. The closer you quilt, the longer it will last. She didn't specify 8-10" lines, but I'd guess mine only survived 20-25 washes before I started having problems. Not worth it for me to put all that time into the quilt top to have it fall apart in 6-12 months. 2" spacing, according to Ms. Thomas, can last 20 years washing once a week & that's probably at least partly due to the cotton fibers breaking down.

Bree123 - thank you for the directions. I will have to apply that next time I quilt. I never heard a washing study before. Interesting. You say "I've done less a couple of times with my early quilts and the batting bunched and stitches started to come undone" how far apart did you stitch when this happened? what type of batting did you use in that instance - do you remember?

I ended up 6.5" blocks by time I sewed both ways.

Do the battings that call out can be quilted up to 10" apart not last?

Now I am a little nervous

I used Warm & Natural for one & some type of poly batt for the other (that was 10 years ago & I can't recall!).
W&N is a fantastic product. I only use that & the new Warm & Plush in my quilts, I just quilt much closer together now. I did the quilt in my avatar STID with W&N. I'm planning to pick it up from my sister in September for a week or so in order to add more quilting. I'm doing that with a poly batt table runner, too.

I guess as our society moves more toward cheap, disposable products, a batting that lasts 6 months when quilted 7-8" apart has it's place (which is what I did). As for me, I celebrated the opportunity to spend time adding prettier quilting to some early, ugly quilts, but have definitely learned my lesson & now quilt with no more than a 2" space between quilting lines.

I wouldn't get too nervous, just keep in mind that with any type of batting, the closer together you quilt, the better it will hold together in the washer & dryer. ;)

If you are quilting on a DSM--try this. When you come to the places where stitching is going to intersect, drop the needle into your work about 1/2" before that stitching and give a little tug on the other side of that stitching that's already in place. You are pulling on the bias and that may be enough that puckers don't happen. It works for me anyhow. I assume, too, that you are using a walking foot in this quilting.

You could also "tack" a few places in the open spaces. That works like ties, but are almost invisible. Just make a few stitches forward and backward in a seam near the center of the open space. No puckers.

When there are fewer quilting lines on a quilt and they are farther apart, the threads break as the quilt is lifted, tugged, and pulled for adjusting on a bed or used as a throw. The more quilting lines there are, the more the pull is equalized and threads will not break as easily.

illnois - thanks for the tip - that does help alot

maviskw - I didn't think about taking.. that doesn't seem too overwhelming