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How To Quilt
How To Quilt - Stitch Inside Ditch Quilting
Stitch in the ditch quilting is the name given to stitching over the seam lines of the pieced quilt blocks. As with free motion machine quilting, this is done from the the surface of the quilt with the pattern of the quilting showing up on the quilt backing.
You might need a walking foot machine foot, a couple of quilting gloves and lots of patience.
There are several things that you should think about before starting quilting:
* Would you like the stitch in the ditch quilting to face out or blend in? It is more usual to use a blending colour thread for your top, but you might wish to use a colour that stands out for the quilt backing to showcase the quilt design. It is fine to train on a different colour thread in the bobbin.
* Before you begin quilting, be clear about the pattern that you are going to use: do you want to stitch in the ditch along every seam, just outline a particular pattern in the quilt blocks, or even just outline the quilt block itself?
* Check your stitch length. The actual norm is 12 stitches per inch, a little longer compared to everyday sewing stitch length.
* Adjust the sewing machine tension. This is probably the single most important factor in helping to achieve good machine quilting results. Due to the fact of the thickness of two layers of fabric plus batting, the auto tension on your machine is unlikely to give the best results. Make up a practice block of the three layers used in your quilt and sew a line of stitching. Look at the back of this sample block. Chances are you won't like what you see as the stitching will be too tight, so loosen the tension and try again. Keep experimenting until you feel that the look of the stitches on your quilt top and backing are giving the look that you want for your own quilt.
Quilting with sew in the ditch
Today you can begin quilting with sew in the ditch on the quilt itself. Put on the quilting gloves: they really do help to stop your fingers sliding on the fabric. Begin in the middle of the quilt. This will include rolling the quilt to the right of the middle so that it fits neatly into the space on your sewing machine. Place the cover so that the needle will come down on the seam line. Begin sewing, trying to keep your eye on the seam feeding into the machine rather than on the needle itself. It's amazing how your eye is drawn to watch the needle going up and down, which doesn't actually help you maintain a straight line at all.
Following a few ins of sewing, stop the machine and reach round for the trailing end of thread. Pull gently on the thread so that the bobbin thread begins to pull through to the quilt top. Using a pin, pull the bobbin thread right through and tie a double knot with the top thread. This will secure the threads without having to use back stitching. Do this at the beginning of each line of sewn in the ditch or you will end up with looking threads all over the place, getting caught up in the next line of stitching.
Proceed sewing along the seam lines until you reach the edge of the cover. Take your quilt out of the machine and tie off the ends of the threads.
Returning to the middle of the quilt, repeat the method with a new line of stitch in the ditch quilting going from the middle to the edge. Try out to quilt in the same direction as previous lines to avoid your quilt backing puckering slightly.
Quilting with stitch in the ditch is a marvellous method of making quilts in its own right but also a great self-confidence booster before you attempt free motion machine quilting. |