10 Minute Tip
When machine quilting, I always quilt what I call the 'foundation or stabilizing grid' first. This means that I stitch 'in the ditch' between the rows of blocks and borders first. I also stitch in the ditch along all of the sashing if the quilt has it. This allows me to go back and quilt within each block one at a time without worrying about the basting. The 'in the ditch grid' keeps the layers from shifting and allows me to take out any basting pins that were used.
Not all quilts are suited to this method. A quilt that is one large block or an overall design might not work with this method unless it has some straight lines that divide portions of the quilt. Next time you plan to machine quilt a quilt, take a look and see if this would be helpful. Let me know what you think!
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Enjoy every stitch!
Diane
Great tip, it's one of the first things I learned to do when I began doing free motion quilting.
ReplyDeletegood reminder and cute spool quilt!
ReplyDeleteYes! I like to do this as well if I can. And I love your spool quilt...great way to use up your scraps!
ReplyDelete