World Wide Quilting Page
Question of the Week
Question for the week of April 12, 1999:
Our question this week comes from Karen
How do you get your hand quilted stitches on the back of the quilt to look as good as those on the front?
Lois :
using your thimble, push the needle straight up(perpendicular to the quilt surface) before pushing into the quilt, then push the needle down before having the point come up to the surface again. Repeat the process, and look at the stitches you have picked up to see if they are all the same length, and that the spaces on the needle are the same length as the stitches and push the needle thru, to begin the process again.
Kay :
Don't give up, but don't become obsessed.I decided to quite worrying about perfection in order to enjoy the quilt itself.If you use a cotton batting that shrinks, your stitches won't be very visible anyway. Of couse, unless you have nosey friends.:)Either way, you will have a quilt that FEELS wonderful, and will Look wonderful to the average person..
Jane Leffler :
I can only repeat what others have already said: Practice,practice, practice! I can also highly recommend Ami Simms little book: How to Improve Your Quilting Stitch. It helped me quite a bit.
Nancy :
One of the best tools I've found to help make even stitches is the "Under Thinble" - it's a small metal disc that sticks on your under-finger making it very easy to slide that needle tip back up the the top of your quilt. It's sold in most of the catalogs and also in fabric & quilt shops. It makes the stitching go faster by helping develop a smooth rhythm to your rocking stitch.
Carmen Carter :
I have the same problem - my stitches much smaller on the back of the quilt than they are on the front. I read about this problem in the book "The Perfect Stitch". This book explains how to correct the problem but I still have yet to conquer it completely. Practice only helps if your technique is correct to begin with.
Barbara, MO :
The answer is practice, practice, practice! If you will concentrated on getting the top stitches even, with the same amount of space between stitches as the length of the stitches, the underside will take care of itself.
kate bradigan :
practice, practice, practice. that really doesn't give you much of a clue does it? practice on a thin batt and make sure you accentuate your "rocker" stitch. insert the needle into the fabric at an angle slightly greater than 90 degrees(91maybe) , rock down and through the fabric, laying the needle almost parallel to the fabric, while pushing the fabric with the left hand down making the needle pop out of the fabric. very hard to explain without a hands on, but do practice and remember to OVER accentuate the stitch.good luck. you'll know when you get it.snoopy dance for you!
sean moskowitz :
i think anyway will look good it really doesnt matter what you look at it matters what your heart thinks
JoAnn :
Karen, Read "That Perfect Stitch" by Roxanne McElroy. Your question is one of her FAQ in the back. A 5-star book, by the way.
Pamela NJ :
Practice, practice, and more practice!!!
Lori Peters :
Sometimes it seems that my stitches on the back look better than the front :-)
But I will tell you what I do....
When you place the tip of the needle into the fabric, feel with your under finger. The minute
you feel the needle, rock it parallel all the way down flat against the quilt top, in line with your quilting
line. Push until the tip is showing...the visible tip length should be equal to the fabric that is already on the
needle. When it matches, lift the needle away from the quilt top, and push it through again straight down....and repeat
the whole process. I have found that if you keep your needle always in line with the marking on your top, and match
the loaded stitches with the needle point that has emerged, you should have even straight stitches on each side. I hope
this hasn't been too confusing, and hope that it has helped a little :-)
Leslie :
Practice, practice, practice! Try making a pillow cover or
some small item with just plain fabric so you can see your
stitches and you don't have to worry about seams. I've also
found that a "cheater" thimble on the underside (one with a
ridge to guide the needle back up) helps keep the back
stitches small.
World Wide Quilting Page * Question of the Week