QuiltedGranny

Thank you! This helps.

QuiltedGranny

Tartan - Yes, I suppose that makes some difference. I do mostly ruler and FQ and I use Q-nique 15R on longarm, but I'm surely a novice. Did FQ and rulers on my domestic for a few years and managing King quilts that way became a wrestling match. So I splurged.
Somehow I don't like the tiny stitches when I set it for 10 or higher number of stitches per inch. But I'm seeing a trend in the answers here moving toward those higher number of stitches. I hope I'm reading the posts correctly in that these are actual stitches per inch. Some have said "3" and I can't imagine 3 stitches per inch. That's more like basting on my Q-nique. So I'm thinking that is some other gauge. I'll experiment some more before I start my next project on there. I'm wondering if the smaller stitches allow easier FQ without broken or skipped stitches on those curves.

megs0863

When piecing, I generally like a smaller stitch length like a 2 to prevent unraveling on the ends and for better hold. Since I quilt mostly with batiks, my Coronet seems to prefer a size 16 needle. I usually use Aurifil 50 wt. thread, and Gutterman is well tolerated by my machine too. Due to the larger size needle, when I hold the finished quilt up to the light, it looks like perforated paper which kind of concerns me, so I make the stitches a little longer for strength, maybe like 10 stitches per inch. I know washing the quilt closes up the holes a little bit. Most of my quilts are for personal enjoyment.

aashley333

Good question. My ancient Bernina's stitch regulator has a scale from 0 to 4. I think the "3" people are suggesting are not stitches per inch, but a setting on their machine. My (new) long arm's default quilting is 10 stitches per inch. I prefer 8. It is a personal preference.

OurWorkbench

It looks like the long arms and vintage domestic machines use "stitches per inch" whereas many of the domestic machines use "mm stitch length". There is a table called Stitch Length - Conversion Table at https://blog.treasurie.com/stitch-length/
there are some other conversion tables and charts at https://aimforquality.files.wordpres...hs-3.png?w=529
https://www.generations-quilt-patter...sion-chart.png
https://www.generations-quilt-patter...sion-chart.png
https://help.brother-usa.com/app/ans...ngth-settings#

oreo1912

On my qnique15 I tend to use 10 but if I am doing some dense fillers I will go 12