Why Stitch in the Ditch?

Why stitch in the ditch (SID)?  Well, you don't HAVE to, so let's review the choices that impact the decision.

Have you ever noticed what a tied quilt looks like?  Big, fluffy bunches between ties.  Same thing happens when a sandwich is pinned with safety pins.  This is not bad or good.  It just is.  It looks like this photo of the ice from my hike last week:

The ice on Dream Lake.  The wind blows it as it freezes,
but we still hiked across the lake on the ice.

The question is:  Are your seams going to bubble up this way?  Do you like the piecing seams to behave this way?  They will if you are quilting designs into areas defined by the seams.  On the other hand, an all-over design will cross seams in an irregular way and keep them from bunching and creating unsightly ridges.

So...why bother?
Stabilization.  Basting will stabilize your quilt.  I hate basting, but I do pin.  I SID to stabilize the quilt before doing the fancy quilting.  The pins can all be removed and there is no worry about the quilt going wonky when you are concentrating on the decorative free motion quilting (FMQ).  Once the quilt is stabilized you can work anywhere you want without distortion.  I stitch with Superior MonoPoly thread (clear or smoky) for SID.  This can be a great way to learn to control your FMQ technique.  You can also use any thread of a color that disappears into your fabrics.  For straight lines and borders I use my duel feed foot, and it is awsome. It gobbles up excess fabric and smooths it all into the puff.

No bubbly seams, tucks or puckers.  I have 28 pieces in each block of my quilt and they will mostly be quilted with enclosed designs.  I do not want seam ridges so I am SID-ing in every single seam.  Time consuming, yes, but WOW does it ever make it look nice.  My quilt would look fine with only the SID, but since I like the fancy stuff I know I won't have to worry about the antics of recalcitrant seams or tucks or puckers.

Before:  Rumpledy, bumpledy before SID

After:  All seams stitched down.

Straight borders.  Borders look best when they are nice and straight.  Show judges will nail you for crooked borders every time.  SID will set the borders nice and straight from the get-go whether you quilt on them or not.

You want to show your quilt.  Take careful note of all of the above because the judges will be looking for straight seams and borders, smooth curves, no crumples and perfection in the hanging.  This is impacted by blocking after all is done, but you can't block out internal wiggles after they are set in stone....errr thread.  They will notice the track of your SID especially any stitches that stray from the ditch, so if you choose to do it, learn and practice to do it well.  There are many online tutorials so I am not going into the "how to."

Don't bother:
If your quilt will be a "dragger" to be loved and washed repeatedly.  It won't matter.  The exception would be if you choose to do all the quilting SID and don't want to mess with the fancy stuff.

If you are going to quilt an all-over design that tramples and ignores seams.  In this case the seams generally disappear into the quilting motifs.

If you don't show your quilts.

If you don't care....and that is OK.  It is your quilt.  Do what suits your style, your time, your passion.

Sew some happy seams this week.  I wish you time to practice some stitching-in-the-ditch.

PS.  Last week's hike:

Hallet and Flattop peaks from Dream Lake.  Rocky Mountain NP.

No Thread for ALL Projects

When I first began quilting I used 100% cotton for all sewing and quilting as that was thought to be the best at that time.  The common understanding was that synthetic thread was not good as it could melt, and it might or cut your fabric because of its strength.  Time, testing and common use has proven that these threads stand up really well without damage to the fabric although nylon is questionable because it yellows and gets brittle with age.  As quilting has evolved the available threads and fibers have exploded.  There are so many brands, fibers, and thicknesses that it would be very time consuming to research them all and even more to test and write about them.  I will narrow this blog down to my own experience.  Caveat:  I am NOT an expert.  I just know what I like.  If you are interested in informative articles about thread go to Superior Threads and start reading.

One important issue is thread weight.  Threads are labelled as #30, #50, #100, aka 30 wt, 50 wt, 100 wt, etc.  The confusing thing is that #30 is relatively thick and heavy and a lower number is even heavier.  A nice piecing weight is #50.  The finest thread in my list is #100 and is often silk, but Superior has just come out with a #100 polyester thread (MicroQuilter) that sounds really nice and is cheaper than silk.   The numbering makes sense when you realize how the system works:

• #30 means that on a weight scale 30 yards = 1 specific weight unit.
• #50 means that on a weight scale 50 yards = 1 specific weight unit.
• #100 means that on a weight scale 100 yards = 1 specific weight unit.

So, all three achieve the same weight, but it takes more yards of the #100 than the #30 to weigh the same.  I don't know if it is yards or feet or whatever.  I don't know whether it is ounces or grams or whatever.  This example is meant only to explain the system because it is hard for newbies to wrap their minds around it.  I also want you to understand when I explain my choices of thread.

Needles, on the other hand, are bigger if the number is higher.  The size of the thread determines the size of needle that you should use.  You would use a larger needle for #30 thread than you would use for #100 thread.

TIP:  Changing needles and threads is inherent in fine quilting.  Get used to it!!

OK.  My choices from start to finish:

Piecing.  My first choice would be Aurifil cotton Mako.  It is 100% cotton, #50 aka 50 wt and is fine/thin for a cotton thread.  It is not linty.  However, I took a class from Harriet Hargrave many years ago and she recommended Presencia 50 wt and it is an excellent thread too.  I bought a huge cone of it, so I use it for all my piecing, but will change when it is gone - if it ever gets used up.  No complaints.  I just like the Aurifil better as it seems thinner.  I use a medium gray for all my piecing.

Ditching.  I do most of my SID with Superior Mono-poly.  It is clear and fine and you don't have to worry about color.  My machine has no problem with it.  My only complaint is that it is shiny.  I see it as I work, but when the quilt is done it is really invisible.  Superior also has a smoky version for use on dark fabrics, but it is also shiny.  Both of these threads blend with the colors of your fabric.  In the bobbin I use Superior's Bottom Line, which is a 60 wt thread.  It is very slightly elastic, which allows it to pull the top thread into the batting when it relaxes after sewing.

TIP:  Check your tension before you start to make sure that you don't have pin points of thread poking out on one side or the other.  The top and bottom threads should meet and loop within the batting.

Quilting the quilt.  The thread for the rest of the quilt is variable and depends on what I am doing.  I love Isacord when I want the quilting to stand out.  It is 40 wt polyester with a beautiful sheen and I am using it to outline a lot of feathers.  Thread buildup really shows so you have to plan in order to avoid too much backtracking with it.  I also am using 100 wt Kimono silk from Superior.  It is dreamy, thin and strong.  I use it where I want texture more than obvious color or where I want to smash down the background to accentuate a quilting design.  The very fine thread buries itself in the quilt leaving texture more obvious than thread.  I used a contrasting color silk for the dark border feathers so they would show a little bit, but not stand out.  I also find it hard to see if I work dark on dark!  I use Bottom Line in the bobbin for both Isacord and silk.

Isacord for feathers.  Kimono silk for grid and border designs.
Turquoise point not quilted yet.

On this quilt I am using the same bobbin color for the whole quilt.  I will talk about quilt backs next week.  They can be a lot of fun.

Sew a happy seam this week.  I wish you fine stitching with beautiful threads.












how the back looks