When to SID/stabilize and when not?

[juliagraves]

I am new and wondering about when I need to stabilize/SID and when I don't. When I watch Linda Taylor's show, she's always talking about stabilizing the quilt, but seems to assume you know what she's talking about.

I've only done 2 small quilts using meandering and they seemed to be fine without any stabilization. They also didn't have borders.

I did a search on stabilize and read the posts, which seemed to agree that it was best to stabilize/SID on borders and around sashing, or when doing detail work that may draw up the quilt.

Are there some general guidelines beyond this about when to do it and when not to? I would prefer to not SID unless I had to.

Also - do people use monofilament for SID, or match the background fabric color? Stitch towards the side without the seam allowance?

This forum has been exceedingly helpful - I have picked up so many tips - thank you all!

Julia

[Charlene]

Hi Julia,

If I am doing an all over design or a panto, other than stablilizing the edges of the quilt,I don't do any other stabilization.

If I am going to do some custom stitching within a border or block, I do SID to secure the border, block or sashing.

To do SID, you need to have a base on your machine so you can have some stability with the use of a ruler. I use thread to match the fabric color and I guess I look at what I am SID to decide where I will put the stitches. There are people who never do SID and have beautiful quilts. I am one of those people who like to do SID.

Char