Marking quilt and quilting

[Deborah H.]

How is the crosshatched marked. Is it 1/2 ?? then when quilting do you do one line at a time and back stitch where you end each line. I have never crosshatched ??? Thank you!!!

[Lorna B.]

Sometime last year there was a discussion on this. I think it was Margo...not sure of the category. I used the information to crosshatch blocks on the Hugs and Kisses quilt. for the first block or 2 I used masking tape or the edge of the walking foot to try and make my lines even. Margo (I think) talked about marking the lines on the block with washable Crayola markers and using the free motion quilt foot. that way when you sew to the end of the line you just trace along stitching (or in the ditch) to get to the next line. That worked great for me and much faster.

[Lorna B.]

The scale of crosshatching is up to you - whatever fits best in your quilt. I think it's best to quilt straight lines about two inches apart in both directions of the cross hatch and then stitch between those lines for a finer look. If you stitch lines close together to begin with, it may pull the fabric, so that's why I start with a larger grid. When you reach the end of a line, turn and stitch down to the start of the next line and then turn and start the next parallel line. Or you could tie off each line if you don't want to travel, but I find that a bit tedious. If the crosshatching is near the edge of the quilt, you can always stitch beyond the edge a bit, then turn, travel to the next line and sew the next parallel.

Kathy

[Sharon E.]

My cross hatching was 1" apart and yes it is tedious and you have to go around all those pieces, but looks great in the end. I did try to find a place to travel and did that most of the time, or just tied off if it didn't work that way. The 1" scale worked well with my A to Z quilt. Here is a picture of the entire quilt for show entering purposes and a closeup of the cross hatching on the J block. ***The picture for entering shows is better than this one, hehe.***

[Nancy R.]

It turned out beautiful, Sharon!!

[Nancy R.]

Nice. Great eye candy.

[Nancy R.]

Sharon, How beautiful and your quilting is exquisite.

Judy

[Nancy R.]

Very nice Sharon!
Barb

[Pamela N.]

Sharon did you use a walking foot or free motion for the cross hatching? I've just started the quilting on my ewe and me quilt.
Best Wishes Pam

[Lorna B.]

Sharon, that's lovely! it hangs so straight...I don't think I have achieved that in a quilt yet. Also it looks like the crosshatching lines up across the whole quilt and just individual blocks? That is amazing.

[Sharon E.]

On the cross hatching, no I didn't use my walking foot, just my ruler on my sit down long arm. I have a very long ruler 60" that I use a lot with my work to mark the lines with and to make sure the lines we straight, or appeared straight on the entire quilt, and continued from block to block, but it was tricky at times. Thanks ladies for the lovely comments. She will be entered into the local County Fair soon and possibly a quilt show in September.

[Beverly C.]

Sharon, what kind of 60" ruler is it? Do you use the little strips on the bottom of it to keep it from moving while stitching? I a couple months from quilting mine, but want to do cross hatching. Yours is just beautiful!

[Sharon E.]

Beverly, thanks so much for the lovely comments. The 60" ruler is an old fashioned wooden ruler that I have had for 40 years. I got it from an upholstery/drapery wholesale shop. I use it extensively for my drapery business. Its not a quilting ruler, but comes in handy when I needed to mark corner to corner like I did on this quilt. I have a 12" quilting ruler for straight edge quilting, it has handles to grip to keep it from slipping and that works very well for me.

Sharon

[Lois B.]

Sharon, Your quilt turned out so well. Good luck in the shows. It's just beautiful. Thanks for the tips. A while ago I bought a 4 ft metal carpenters' rule. A 6ft one would sure be nice. Haven't seen one, but haven't looked either. Didn't know they made them.

[Pamela N.]

Sharon your quilt is beautiful, thank you for all the information.
Best Wishes Pam