Debbie B

I quilt with an older Juki (9" throat) on a frame. I bought a ruler foot & rulers. I've read where quilters will say that they stitch in the ditch first & then do the quilting. Do you SID the entire quilt & then roll back to the beginning to start quilting? Or just do one area at a time?

PaperPrincess

Depends on the quilt. If it's really nice & flat & square, I will just roll & quilt as I go along. If it's wonky, the blocks are wavy etc., I will SITD around all the blocks & borders first, then go back & add the quilting.

feline fanatic

Like PP I have done both. But I don't base my decision on the squareness/flatness, I base it on thread changes. If I am going to ditch all in one thread and background stitch in another I will ditch the whole quilt and then roll it back and do the background work. If both are done in the same thread I do it as I go. But if I am doing it as I go, I will ditch the entire width that is exposed in that section of frame then do the detail.

kathy

I try to do all the ruler work first if there isn't much then take off the ruler base so I have more room.

quilterpurpledog

I use a domestic machine. I stitch in the ditch rows and blocks first. I use Bottomline thread by Superior on the top and a thread that matches the back in a 50 or 60 weight on the back. This secures the entire quilt. Then, I go back and quilt the individual blocks. After I stitch in the ditch around the borders I stitch 1/4 inch from the edge of the quilt all the way around making sure I hold it square with the machine so there is no 'creep'. I think this is a most important step and perhaps the most difficult. I trim and square my quilt at this point.

Sewnoma

I use Elmer's to do my basting, so I don't worry about doing SITD before FMQ. I just go for it, unless the SITD is somehow part of the design (like I want more evenly dispersed crinkles, or for puffy batting to show the SITD lines).

cindi

I do LA, and SID as I go. I'll always SID the sides and bottom-most area first to stabilize so it doesn't creep up, then SID the rest of the area.

Debbie B

Thanks everyone. That helps me a lot.