handquilting in the ditch
09-25-2012, 05:37 AM
#11
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Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Central NJ
Posts: 5,571
I will sometimes hand quilt in the ditch for utility purposes. But then I will quilt other motifs other places on the quilt. I will also, frequently, quilt 1/4 inch outside the seam or 'echo quilt'. I use either a plain #2 mechanical pencil for drawing the lines on light fabrics or a bohin white mechanical pencil for darker fabrics. Never have an issue with either of these washing out. A friend of mine uses chunks or masking tape to mark straight lines. Just picks it up and moves it as necessary as she's working.
09-25-2012, 06:14 AM
#12
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Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Missouri
Posts: 796
I use different markers - the markers that are washable, come in all colors, do a fantastic job on my quilt top. And they wash out after my project is completed. I always wash the quilt before it goes to it's home. I draw the pattern onto the material, and quilt! If the material is dark, I use a sliver of hand soap - smells great too! Great grandmother showed me the soap trick. Of course it doesn't show very well on white material.
09-26-2012, 01:44 PM
#14
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Camden, Arkansas
Posts: 228
she's talking about a modification of "in the ditch", I think. I've heard others say it's supposed to be easier to stitch just outside of the ditch, but my first ever quilt (a log cabin) also had a lot of "in the ditch" quilting and I didn't think it was that much harder, if at all, than the rest of the quilting on it.
honeybee, have you tried actually stitching in the ditch? Solves your problem of it looking off center to you and you might be surprised at how easy it is. :-)
honeybee, have you tried actually stitching in the ditch? Solves your problem of it looking off center to you and you might be surprised at how easy it is. :-)
09-28-2012, 07:34 AM
#15
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Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Tulare, CA
Posts: 199
I use different markers - the markers that are washable, come in all colors, do a fantastic job on my quilt top. And they wash out after my project is completed. I always wash the quilt before it goes to it's home. I draw the pattern onto the material, and quilt! If the material is dark, I use a sliver of hand soap - smells great too! Great grandmother showed me the soap trick. Of course it doesn't show very well on white material.
10-21-2012, 05:46 PM
#16
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Killeen, Texas
Posts: 329
Amen!!!!!!
I also hand quilt. I quilt just slightly away from the seam. Mine aren't always even and not always exactly straight but when the quilt is completed, it looks good. Stressing over getting my stitches EXACTLY EVEN is stressful for me and I like to hand quilt because it's relaxing. When it becomes THAT stressful, then I'll just have to stop making quilts. No one who has one of my quilts has said anything about my quilting stitches being uneven. Stop stressing, enjoy the process and let others enjoy the fruits of your hands.
10-21-2012, 06:22 PM
#17
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Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: The beautiful Texas hill country.
Posts: 1,265
I too am learning to handquilt. Several of the ladies that I'm learning from have handquilted for years. Each of them have told me to "enjoy the process". Even machine stitching isn't perfect.
To be real honest, I don't much care what others think of my handquilting... I'm having too much fun to worry about that.
To be real honest, I don't much care what others think of my handquilting... I'm having too much fun to worry about that.
10-21-2012, 06:52 PM
#18
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: North East Lower peninsula of Michigan
Posts: 6,231
I gave a quilt to a friend and I hand quilted it my second ever and Just the other day I was looking closely at it an it was in no way perfect but it had small stitches they may not have been perfectly straight but I sure could not see a problem with them! AND I am the one who did it! actually I was amazed at how well it looked! Do not be hard on yourself once it is done it will be beautiful!
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