Carol Wilson

Why is it that when I hand quilt the stitches on the top are nicely even but the stitches on the backing are crooked?

What am I doing wrong and how can I correct this?

dlv

Are you "stab" stitching?

nativetexan

mine too. not stab stitching either.

sewingitalltogether

Ok, to get even stitches the needle needs to go straight down and back up. I think this takes practice. For me my stitches looked better toward the end of my first quilt.

popover

LOTS of practice. You aren't a machine, you know.

eyes

Maybe you are holding the needle as in sewing...at an angle. The needle has to go straight down and straight up as sewingitalltogether posted. :-)

Genden

All of the above suggestions are good. Also, the batting makes a difference. I avoid batting with scrim. It causes too much drag on the needle. The easiest batting to hand quilt is wool.

sewbizgirl

Does it matter what the back looks like? If you've achieved 'nice and even' on the top side, I'd be delighted with that!

I've been hand quilting a Hawaiian needleturn quilt and started with a big hoop. My stitches were huge. I got rid of the hoop for the outer edges and now my sts are much smaller and better looking. Still not really 'nice and even', tho. I think I much prefer quilting with no hoop.

Tartan

It is difficult to get perfectly even stitches when hand quilting but the most important tip I can give is, have some slack. I put my work tight in a hoop to make sure all the pieces are wrinkle free. Then I push down with my hand in the center to give me about a 1-1/2 dip to the center of the hoop. This slack gives me the ability to load my needle better. The first stitch is always the most difficult for me so I load my needle with as many stitches as possible before pulling it through. Also don't try for tiny, try for consistent size.

joe'smom

It's easier to be even and consistent with the front stitches, because you can see the tip of the needle, how big of a stitch you're taking, and exactly where it is landing. Just keep stitching and those backing stitches will improve (that's what I tell myself).