Why stitch in the ditch

Your personal data will be used to support your experience throughout this website, to manage access to your account, and for other purposes described in our privacy policy. LOG IN. Search for:. What Is Stitch in the Ditch? Oh, let us count the reasons. Wait, Where Do I Stitch? Quilt Within the Blocks Next, study your patchwork to find as many continuous paths as possible, then start filling in the blocks with interior stitch in the ditch quilting as needed.

Sign up for our newsletter. Stay connected to Craftsy experts. Access over 1, Premium classes. Premium Membership Sign up for the Premium Membership and get access to our best Craftsy videos and projects. Learn new craft techniques and tips from the experts. Monthly Membership. Annual Membership. It also keeps both layers moving at the same speed. Of course, which foot you use will be up to your preference. With quilt making being tedious at times, it is nice to have something give you a break while still getting the quilt done properly.

There is nothing saying you have to switch to a walking foot but use your own judgment. Go with the foot that is best for you and what you are trying to do. Technically you should use the ditch in the stitch foot or what is called the edge joining foot. The thinking behind this is that those feet are designed to sew very close to the edge of the seam.

The fabric is joined together better and you should end up with a nice seam. Yet, there are those experienced sewers who would rather sacrifice that benefit and use a walking foot. They prefer to have both layers of the fabric going through the needle at the same speed and not worry about how close to the edge they get.

Which one you should use is totally up to you and how you like to sew. The walking foot is basically easier and faster. Plus, you do not have to worry about the edge of the seam as much. Go with what works with your style of sewing and your schedule.

You may not always have the time to use the stitch in the ditch foot. Yes, the walking foot is not a mandatory sewing tool. You have options and it will depend on how you want your seams to look. The stitch in the ditch foot gets closer to the edge of the material so you have cleaner looking seams. Also, if you are not worried about the speed that the lower and upper layers go through your quilting machine, then you can avoid using the walking foot.

The good thing about the stitch in the ditch technique is that the lines are all straight and easy to follow. One way to do this is to buy a Bernina sewing machine. You want the one that comes with the ditch guard as that makes your sewing more accurate and a lot easier. Of course, you can use any brand of sewing machine that has that same guard. There is a drawback to that guard though. It does not seem to feed the top and bottom layers through the needle at the same speed.

This can cause you some problems if you cannot make adjustments for this diversity in speed. One sewer did a lot of basting before using a non-walking foot but even those extra pins did not help keep the fabric inline and moving at the same time. So if you are going to use a non-walking foot to get your quilt stitched in the ditch, then be prepared for some extra work. If you want to use open seams on your quilt then go for it. It is possible for you to stitch in the ditch and have open seams.

This is a little extra work but in the long run, it may pay off for you. The process is quite simple. You need to press your seams open first. Then set your quilting machine to a smaller stitch and then sew away. Like another stitch in the ditch techniques and methods, there is always another side to the issue. Some people do not like the look of the open seam as it shows the thread too much. This option will be up to your preference as well.

It will also depend on how you want the quilt to look once you are finished with it. There seems to be a lot of agreement about where to use the stitch in the ditch foot. The experienced sewers fell that this foot is best used when you are making clothing and it is not a great tool to use when making a quilt. That conclusion may be the same one you hold and feel that using the stitch in the ditch foot is inferior to using the walking foot. You do not have to worry about layer speed and your sewing time goes a lot smoother.

Mardi March 26, at PM. Newer Post Older Post Home. Subscribe to: Post Comments Atom. Summertime: When? Spiral Quilt - Part II. Before I go on I need to clarify one point. My spiral quilts are not made in "blocks. I read an article the other day which tells of a study that purportedly proves that there is a correlation between messiness and creativity It's OK to be Lazy - Occasionally.

Yes, I was lazy last week. I didn't write a post. Summertime is unpredictable even though my children left the nest long ago. There i The ice on Dream Lake. The wind blows it as it freezes, but we still hiked across the lake on the ice. Before: Rumpledy, bumpledy before SID. After: All seams stitched down. Hallet and Flattop peaks from Dream Lake.