counting stitches per inch in hand quilting
05-30-2014, 06:41 AM
#11
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Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Rapid City, SD
Posts: 4,961
This is a skill set I haven't really learned -- I do have a project in progress where I was learning to quilt with 2 thimbles. I really liked that. No sore fingers! It is always amazing how much I learn from this board -- thanks for the link!
05-30-2014, 04:15 PM
#12
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Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: East Oklahoma - pining for Massachusetts
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I would think that it would just be the top. Mine are not perfect, but they are, from doing so many, getting smaller on there own. I looked at a quilt from 10 years ago, and they were about 1/4 inch. Yikes!
05-30-2014, 05:02 PM
#13
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Join Date: May 2013
Location: Ballwin, MO
Posts: 4,608
Yes, definitely just count the stitches on top. In the Thimblelady book I have, she talks about 12 stitches per inch, referring to just the ones on top (making each individual stitch about 1/25" of an inch). Roxanne McElroy also had that as the gold standard in her book, 'That Perfect Stitch'. But everyone I've ever read agrees that evenness is the more important goal. Even stitches look lovely, no matter their size. And some people just don't like the look of such a small stitch. Determine what look you like, and aim for evenness at that size. My spaces between stitches are consistently larger than my stitches, no matter what size the stitches are, and that goes for front and back (which doesn't really make sense when you think about it). I'm still working on getting the stitches and spaces to be the same size.
05-31-2014, 03:54 AM
#15
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Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,061
Hello everybody, I have a question regarding counting stitches per inch in hand quilting.
When you say 7 or 9 or 12 stitches per inch, are you counting only the stitches you can see on the top of the quilt or both on the top and the back?
I suppose is only on the top, but just to be sure.
Thank you!
Patricia (hand quitler)
When you say 7 or 9 or 12 stitches per inch, are you counting only the stitches you can see on the top of the quilt or both on the top and the back?
I suppose is only on the top, but just to be sure.
Thank you!
Patricia (hand quitler)
05-31-2014, 07:06 AM
#16
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Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 2,876
I kinda pay attention to my stitches. I have even counted them on occasion but mainly, regardless of how many there are, I just love the look of hand quilting. It says something machine quilting doesn't.
05-31-2014, 11:34 AM
#18
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Portage, Michigan
Posts: 9,518
Thanks for this questions I have always wondered. I guess I am not as skilled as I thought after looking at the link in post #2. I guess that we all need a goal to reach for! I am happy with my 5 or 6 per inch and will work on more...maybe.
Like others, I go for even rather than higher numbers per inch.
Like others, I go for even rather than higher numbers per inch.
Last edited by WMUTeach; 05-31-2014 at 11:36 AM.
05-31-2014, 02:59 PM
#19
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Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 209
Who counts? I agree with even and steady as one can. I think it depends on the project for the size and number of stitches (if you count). If I'm quilting cutesy I use a larger needle and stitches, if I'm quilting something average or delicate, I go for the smaller needle and stitches. If one really wants to be perfect (contest quality, I guess), there are quilters who space their stitches with an empty needle on the sewing machine and then hand quilt thru the holes. Never wanted to take the time to figure this one out.
05-31-2014, 06:13 PM
#20
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 7,312
I just started hand quilting and count only on the top.
Here's an article on counting stitches: http://timquilts.com/2013/02/15/coun...ting-stitches/
Here's an article on counting stitches: http://timquilts.com/2013/02/15/coun...ting-stitches/
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