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Years ago, at a lecture, a quilt teacher/author said that quilt show judges always look for "even" quilting -- an even amount of quilting across the quilt, no matter what the quilting designs are. That concept didn't really click with me then, since I was still "ditch" quilting & hadn't tried any free-mo.

I'm still no free-mo expert. But lately, I've really been noticing the quilting on quilts, and have become more aware of what that teacher said. The quilts that don't have an even amount of quilting across them are standing out to me. It's not necessarily a bad thing about those quilts, it's just that I'm finally able to notice it & grasp the concept of "even" vs. "non-even." And I'm going to try to carry that idea over into my stitching now.

What about you? Do you have "even" in your mind when you plan your stitching? Or do you simply want to "get the back to stick to front," so you can call it quilted? I'll admit...I've been in the "make it stick" camp for a long time. Quilting designs don't come easy to me, either in the planning or the execution. I'm always afraid I'm going to over-do it, taking away from the look of the patchwork itself, so I usually err on the side of caution and under-do it with the quilting. But then there are those quilts that are tightly quilted in one area & loosely quilted in another... I think those are the ones that are jumping out at me now, as that teacher's words ring in my ears.

Your thoughts on quilting stitching & "even" amounts of it?

I like using pantograph patterns when I quilt my quilts. That makes it easy...the same design, all over.

My Mom has gone back and added more quilting to a few of her earlier quilts. I don't think you are alone in your experiences.

I've not quilted enough to have a habit, but you make a good point. I do think the spacing should be even, whatever that spacing is. Thanks for the tip.

I don't know why I have such a mental struggle with the quilting part. I can't seem to break out of the "make it match the patchwork" habit. For instance, my friend just did a quilt with rectangles, yet she chose Baptist Fan for the quilting stitches. It looked great! But that would never have occurred to me, to do arcs on a quilt that's all 90 degree corners in the patchwork. The patchwork spoke for itself, but then so did the quilting...like 2 separate ideas made into one? That's what I can't do well yet -- bring 2 totally different ideas together like that & make it work.

So along with wondering WHAT to quilt, I wonder if it's going to look evenly spaced, too. Or am I going to have a barely-quilted border and a more quilted center? (I don't like planning quilting on borders -- so long & skinny!)

I know that on some quilts, the stippling is spaced so that the unstippled spaces make a design, too (feathers, etc.). And those quilts are gorgeous that way. So there goes that teacher's "rule" out the window?? But she did have a point, when you can find several inches of unquilted area on a quilt, and it makes the whole thing look a bit unbalanced. I didn't notice that at first, but now my eye seems to go right to it.

...good point, being pretty new to being comfortable with FMQing, I understand what you mean. Thanks for sharing your info and experience.

"Even" quilting is important for another reason. When quilts are washed, the areas with less quilting will bag more than areas with lots of quilting. Gravity also plays with quilts and can cause shifting of batting/fabrics over time so quilts that you plan on hanging for a long period of time might also be affected by uneven quilting. The amount of thread you use also can add weight and therefore impact the way it hangs. Depending on the intended use of the quilt impacts the way I quilt, but for the most part I strive to be fairly even. Sometimes I will densely quilt around motifs, and if I do that all the background areas will have dense quilting and the motifs will spread so that the puffing of certain areas occurs throughout the quilt for balance and is a planned design feature. It is important to consider this even when you choose to have someone else quilt a quilt for you--especially custom quilting.

I'm so glad I read this thread last week. This week I'm working on a small art quilt that has different designs in 4 of the areas...no straight utility quilting here. This is really the first quilt where I haven't been all "git er done" about it and am really enjoying it. (I have to confess the quilting part has been my least favorite part of the whole process) Becasue of this thread, I paid a lot more attention to the areas quilted and a similar amount. I actually did more than I would have, and I really like it. Thanks for all the information!!!!

It seems funny to read this and hear people say that the quilting is their least favorite part of the process. I really like that part. I really dislike to cut and also, borders are not my favorite either.

Any time we can do your thinking for you, Nancy, just let us know.

What a great post. I am just finishing a boot quilt - inspired by EvelynB. So many firsts! The first time I have made blocks that weren't symmetrical, first time I have a quilting design that shows on the back, first time I have used more than one color of quilting thread, first time the back looks like a separate quilt because of all of the quilting with contrasting thread. I was inspired to "go for it" because of all of the support on this board - especially EvelynB and imaquilter. Although I had some ideas mapped out, I kind of figured it out as I went along. I only have to finish hand sewing the binding and then I will post a picture. Another first - I will be posting a picture of both the front and the back! I did find that I needed to try to make the quilting even so none of the parts looked too puffy. imaquilter gave me another great tip (in addition to a bunch of others!) and that was to wait until I had finished the quilting to choose the binding color. All along, I had assumed I would use one color and ended up using another so was glad I hadn't made the binding ahead of time.
Susan

Susan,
I'm so excited to see your boot quilt done. Asymmetric quilt blocks are quite a challenge. Your piecing was beautiful. I'm glad you didn't use a pantograph. They remind me of department store comforters instead of personal work of love.

So many quilts have the tiny micro-quilting that really distorts with the 1/8-1/16" spacing. So many are using it on just the background so it looks more like trapunto. Those appliquéd pieces need some interior quilting or it'll be a big mess over time. (I have a wallhangings that was my trial for that quilting.) It's impressive because we know the time and thread it used but it sure isn't very decorative or cuddly.

I love blocks that have squares and rectangles to have curved quilting. I love blocks with curved piecing to have straight line quilting. I have a tendency to love quilting the center of a quilt and rush the borders. That'll make the quilt have wavy borders. A judge pointed that out in a critique of one of my early quilts. Those written critiques really help. My friends would never point it out.
Evelyn

Thanks for starting this thread and thanks to those contributing to it. Very good information.

At a major national/international quilt show, one quilt really stood out to us! The quilting was carried too far and took away from the quilt. Hard to explain it, but less quilting and maybe another design would have been so much better. It was a lovely quilt, but the quilting was so distacting. Not the first major quilt show I attended, but the first time I had noticed a quilt like that. Was glad my friend agreeded. She is much more quilt-knowledgeable than I am.

I try to quilt evenly over the top mostly because if you quilt one section more than another it will crunch up and make the quilt wonky. Crunch up and wonky are my technical terms