Beginners question! What color of thread do you stitch in the ditch with?
 

I am pinning my quilt together. I used a neutral beige Aurofil thread to piece my quilt together which I bought online. The online swatches of Aurofil are really hard to tell what color the thread actually is. I just bought some neutral color thread online. I do not have a store that sells Aurofil in my area. I am going to stitch in the ditch on this quilt. The one quilting class I took had us use a neutral color like beige, but that was pretty close to the color of my backing. I was going to use my Aurofil for stitching in the ditch but my backing on this new quilt will be blue. Should I buy a matching color that will go or match the blue backing? If so, what kind of thread should I buy at Joanne's since it is the only shop we have in my area. Or, would it be okay to just use the neutral beige thread and let it show on the blue backing? I have not seen the back of many quilts, so I don't know what is common practice. Thank you in advance for your help.

why not use a light blue in the bobbin & your neutral in the top? so it matches? or, you can certainly use a different color (like neutral) in both top & bottom- pull some thread off the spool & lay it across the backing & see if you like it or not- I generally use what ever thread is the right color for the top & then what ever color is right for the backing in the bobbin. just if one side is really dark & one side really light there may be a problem with the little needle hole pokies showing through on one side or the other- but if you are using a fairly light (or the same value) in top & bobbin it usually is just fine. put together a little sandwich with fabric from top, fabric from bottom a piece of batting & practice a little bit- trying out the options you are considering- then you can decide what you like best.

The thread used on the backs of quilts are as varied as the quilters who make the quilts. It can blend in or stand out. I tend to make my thread blend as much as possible because my quilting is not all that great. Some people love to make their quilting stitches stand out so they use contrasting thread. Your pick.

My thoughts exactly.

I tend to use the same color on the back as the front. My machine just prefers the same thread on the bobbin that I am using on the top. But it works okay for me. I suspect the neutral thread won't show too much, but lay it on there and look at it.

Dina

Would grey blend in with both top and bottom of your quilt?

Exactly! It just depends on whether you want your quilting to be noticed or not. If you are confident in your quilting, go for something that will stand out on your top. My personal opinion, no one really looks at the back that closely. It is the piecing/quilting on the top that folks are going to focus on, so make your decision based on your quilting skills/colors in your top.

I usually just go with a neutral if that is the best for the top and let it show on the back. However, for this very reason I usually make a point to select a backing fabric with a subtle print and with the same background color as the thread I plan to use for the quilting so the quilting stitching will blend in on the back.

I use thread color to match the backing in the bobbin, and invisible on the top when I do Stitch in the Ditch.

I generally use the same color in both top and bottom. But usually my backing is one of the colors from the top so it works well. Also I tend to use patterned backings which makes the thread blend in even more. You can buy Auriful thread at www.fabric.com and several other places online.