Storm at Sea Quilting Advice
 

Hello, quilters!

I just finished off my first quilt top. It's a storm at sea pattern and, a gift for a friend. I'm looking for some quilting advice. My friend really wants to do a stitch in the ditch as she is not a fan of pantos and would like the pattern and piecing to stand out. She does not like the look of quilts with intricate quilting. We were talking to a local quilter and she mentioned that she didn't think stitch in the ditch would hold the quilt together well. Just looking for a few more opinions and if anyone has examples of their completed storm at sea quilt I would be very grateful.

For size reference, the large square in square pieces are 8" x 8".

Cheers,
Kerri

First quilt? you are ambitious, and it turned out beautifully! I personally think SITD would be just fine, but a decent alternative would be to do stitching that follows the piecing 1/8 to 1/4 inch away from the actual seam, so it is "stitch near the ditch"

That is a gorgeous quilt and you did a beautiful job piecing it!

I'm going to be brutally honest here. Stitch in the ditch is actually the hardest thing to do, especially for beginners.

I understand your friend's desire to let the piecing stand out, and I think that's the right thing to do with this quilt. But I think you can accomplish that easily by:
1) Use a large, open panto. Don't choose anything that is quilted tightly or closely.
2) Use a finer thread, such as Bottom Line (60 wt) or Microquilter (100) wt. This won't show up as much as a heavier thread (most quilters quilt with a 40 wt thread).
3) Use a color that will blend in, such as a pale gray or pale blue.

At least, that's what *I* would do. 😉

Beautiful quilt! I agree with a large open panto that is subtle and adds texture rather than design. Can’t wait to see what you choose.

I definitely won't be doing the stitch in the ditch myself. I don't think the little Singer machine would tolerate it hahaha. Do you all have an example of a nice open panto? It would be a great alternative to show my friend.

I thinks stitch in the ditch would work. If you look at the design and follow as a ribbon like cross hatch. Start at one corner and follow the design. By the way, you did a fabulous job for a first quilt

Wow! You did an amazing job on that quilt!

I agree with Peckish that SITD is very hard to do.

I do like LAF2019's idea of stitching "near the ditch." Maybe even echo the shape a time or two.

Maybe ruler work waves across the whole thing wouldn't be too distracting?

I stitched near the ditch and echoed a few times along the part that appears curvy. It worked very well with my domestic machine.

First I will share that I am a hand quilter and not a fan of machine quilting. There are some beautiful machine quilted pieces but why did I go to all the work of piecing, only to create another design that does not compliment my own work, which took hours to create?
That said, take a look at the recommendations for quilting on the batt you have chosen. 8 x 8 will probably leave some big spaces that are bigger than recommended. Usually recommendations are for no larger than 4" apart. I have done stitch in the ditch--it's a lot of work but doesn't show! I have also done 1/4" from the seam and it can be seen while complimenting your piecing. If you choose, you can put another design in the open spaces or simply echo your previous stitching to compliment the design of the quilt.You may find you want to combine the 2 methods, using stitch in the ditch for holding some of the quilt together but then use 1/4" from the seam as your complimenting feature. Even a box within the 8" square might be pleasing?
You have a beautiful keepsake. Wow, for your first quilt, it is amazing. Enjoy it in years to come!

Years ago I quilted my storm at sea by stitching 1/8 to 1/4 inch away from the actual seam, so it is "stitch near the ditch", and it was all hand quilted. I has held together just fine.