Slpmama123

Ooo that's cool! I was worried the minky would get pulled through to the top of the quilt by the needle without batting.

klswift

I do not care for STID nor do I like a tight all over pattern. One of the easiest quilting designs for a newbie to do on a home machine is a diagonal. The reason being is that after the first line, it gets easier! Roll or scrunch up half the top and sew your marked diagonal. 2 very important things - use a walking foot and only stitch the length of your hands, stop, move your hands and stitch some more (this keeps it flat). Then go back to the top and do the next diagonal line (now you have less fabric in the harp area). Then the next row, etc. When you get to the side, turn the top around and work from the next to center line out towards that side (opposite/same that you did on first side). For me, it depends on the use the top will get determining how much stitching I do. If a child's quilt with lots of wear and washing, I will then do diagonal lines in the other direction creating a diamond pattern. If it is a quilt that will have 'gentle' use, I might only do the one direction. And I often do my lines 6" apart and I have never had a problem. Just take your time, make sure you extend your table surface so the top doesn't pull away (gravity can work against you!) and do not expect perfection! A tiny pucker or 2 will probably never be noticed and the next one will be better!!!! Another note - if the top has a border, I often only do the diagonals in the center and do a wavy or other decorative stitch down the center of the borders - just to set them apart.

Slpmama123

Interesting, the diagonal looked difficult to me because I wasn't sure how you make sure the lines stay the correct distance apart the whole time. I'm still not great at sewing straight lines but I do love the quilts that I have seen with diagonal quilting!

meyert

great quilt top! I have used minky many times for the back. I echo the suggestion of diagonal straight lines. When I do that diagonal lines (sort of slanted checkerboard) I really like how the minky on the back looks

be sure to share a picture of the finished quilt

Thumbelina

Welcome to the board from NE Ohio.

HoneyJ

Painters tape! The very first quilt I did was a lap quilt and I just measured 3 inches apart and rolled out the blue painters tape. The only downside was that I did one strip at a time...removed tape, measured next 3 inches etc reapplied tape, sew..repeat. You can use same tape strip quite a few times

Painters tape is great to use as a guide. Good luck! Great quilt top btw.

Slpmama123

Thank you ladies! I couldn't find flannel at my thrift store so I went with cotton batting. I'm stitching straight lines about 1/4" on each side of the vertical seams. Then I plan to do diagonal lines to make diamonds.

My new question is what is causing the puckers on the top of my quilt? I basted every 2" but did I not pull my fabric taut enough? Or is it something about my stitch length or lack of actual straightness? The quilt is for a wedding in less than two weeks so I don't have time to re-baste it but would love to know for future quilts. Thanks!

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Slpmama123

I'll definitely try that!

QuiltnNan

If you did not use a walking foot, you might try that nest time... try it on a test piece before a quilt for a gift. good luck

Slpmama123

Thanks! I do have a walking foot but it's my first time using it so still getting the feel for it