cjtinkle Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 I have a question for you girls. Is there a benefit to doing all the ditch work on the entire quilt before doing any of the fill work over doing it each row at a time? If there is, is the ditch work enough to hold everything in place while the quilt is advanced and then rolled back when finished, or do all the blocks and borders need pinning when doing it this way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat C Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 I'm anxious to hear what others say, but I usually stitch row by row. I usually pin a couple of rows before starting any SID work. Then I SID the first row, check to make sure all is still even and start the fill work. The reason I don't like to SID the entire quilt is because the quilt gets really fat on the quilt back roller bar and it's difficult for me to keep at the right tension. I believe I remember some saying they do all SID work first, then roll back up to the top and start the fill work. It's just worked better for me to pin the heck out of things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimerickson Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 It depends on how much SID there is. If the SID is no more than 8 inches appart throughout the quilt, it would be enough. on the other hand, if the SID was 12 inches or more appart, it probably would not be enough. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimerickson Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 I should add, the benefit would be train of thought, and use of special tools. For me, I use my Quiltazoid a lot, and haveing the quilt completely stabilized with SID would allow me to concentrate on one process at a time and not have to take my Quiltazoid off and put it back on repetedly. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaSteller Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 I ditch the entire quilt before adding the pretties. Whether or not you need to pin will depend on the size of your borders and blocks and, of course, how well the top is pieced to begin with. I do find that occasionally, I need to steam a few wrinkles out of the top of the quilt when I roll back to the top to start the design elements, but I find the whole quilt will be more stable and flat when I ditch it first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirleyl Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 I like to ditch the whole thing and pin stabilize, then I'm comfortable rolling back and forth with different thread colors, especially with heavy fills, if it is a really light fill I might do It a tow at a time. So it depends. My next one up will be totally ditched before anything else, as I want it to stay as square as it is, it has a couple trouble spots that I can starch and steam once ditched. Will post progress, hope to start tomorrow. Shirley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjtinkle Posted January 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 Thank you all so much. I've only done a few custom quilts so far, and was doing the ditch work as I went. I think I'll experiment on this next quilt and try doing the entire thing first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zora Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 I have done it both ways. I don't see a real benefit to doing it all first, unless you are going to do very heavy background fill. The heavy background fill draws up the fabric a great deal, and its hard to keep the quilt square working it through row by row, at least for me. I also think the batting makes a difference. If you have a lot of puffy batting or two layers, for me it is easier to work row by row than do all the SID first. I suggest you experiment and see which you like best. For every "expert" there is a different opinion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjtinkle Posted January 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Well... I think probably doing all the ditch work first would give the best results. So I decided to do that with the quilt I'm working on now... right up until I finished the first row of ditching and realized I'd NEVER make it through an entire quilt doing that without the reward of the fun stuff in between! So much for that.. shame on me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmeimann Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Doing all my SID first gives me time to plan and change my mind about all the fun stuff that comes later. I have often thought I knew just how the rest of the quilting would go but changed my mind while working with the shapes that appear with the ditch work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibbyG Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Myrna Ficken, Judy Woodworth and Sharon Schamer all say ditch work is done LAST. They say that quilting the rest leaves the seams "open" so the thread hides better. I just can't do that. I will ditch two rows first, maybe three and then go back and do the fill in the first row. That way I keep the quilt straighter. Sharon says you do the outside work first, go to the middle and work out. Of course, if I could quilt like her, I'd do exactly what she says. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirleyl Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 It really depends on mood, quilt, and other unforeseen factors of the day, which might include only having x amount of time before I have an appt or something or if the puppy us having a needy day. I don't think there is a wrong way to do it. Shirley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjtinkle Posted January 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Ditch work AFTER? I've tried that.. the seams aren't straight if you quilt the blocks first... at least mine aren't! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pumpkinpatchquilter Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 I have ditched as I go to date but after talking to a number of other good long armers I'm going to try ditching first. I have a tendency to backtrack over my ditchwork creating a really unsightly line...and I kind of feel like if I ditch first I will be less inclined to miss a seam...and also it will force me to think a little more about my lines and keeping them neat! I think maybe if there is little piecing the ditchwork might be better done as you go along, but if it's heavily pieced I think you'd be fine with a few stabilizing pins for the less densly ditched areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 My thoughts? Not every customer will pay for SID and not every quilt needs SID. SID bumps the fee into "custom". SID can be accomplished as you go. Many times if I'm CC-ing within a block, I'll SID the outside seam as the last step. SID can be done first and preferred if you have long sashing and border seams and want to stabilize and keep square all elements. Pinning will accomplish the same stabilization within the quilting field. If you're using a thread color for the SID that's different than in the body of the quilt, the most efficient method is to SID all at once--whether before or after the rest of the stitching. What a wishy-washy post I just wrote! I guess my message is that you make the final decision using your experience, your customer's budget, and your instinct. And the advice of other longarmers is a great place to start, but you'll learn quickly what is the best method for you. (My biggest problem with ditching first and then rolling back to finish is those dreaded creases in every area that happen as you advance. Much more prevalent if you're using a lofty batting and especially bad in the first border. I try to quilt that area first, even if I'm SID-ing the rest.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisae Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 (My biggest problem with ditching first and then rolling back to finish is those dreaded creases in every area that happen as you advance. Much more prevalent if you're using a lofty batting and especially bad in the first border. I try to quilt that area first, even if I'm SID-ing the rest.) I just ran into that situation myself. I decided to double batt a large applique quilt with wool and 80/20. I did all the SID including around all the applique and blocks first. Now when I'm doing detail quilting, especially curved crosshatching, I am getting little and some big creases. So I guess from my experience, it really depends on the quilt. But for the next one like this, I will definitely try doing the SID after the heavy background quilting like Myrna does. Since they are all my own quilts, I can experiment! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjtinkle Posted January 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 I only quilt for myself, although I occasionally do a pantograph for a friend. There isn't enough money in the world for me to do custom quilting for hire, I find it exhausting, painful, and I still love it. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaSteller Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 SID last? That really sounds insane. Unless, I suppose, you do a lot of pinning along the way. As CJ says, I really think it would distort the seams and make them not straight. Linda hit the nail on the head about my main reason (besides stabilization) for doing it all first -- I use monofilament (Fil-Tec's Essence) for my SID. I am no way, no how, doing a row of SID with very light tension, then changing to my design thread and tightening up, then repeating the process every time I roll. I'd rather ditch three quilts in a row before design elements than have to change the thread tension every time I rolled the quilt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cegates Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 As some of you have already said, each quilt is different and one approach might be better on some than others. I am working on a quilt now that has 4 borders, 2 of which are 6 inches wide, with mitered corners. I was terrified of the yards of fullness I might have to deal with on the bottom border if I worked on the whole quilt from top to bottom. I knew that the center of the quilt was well pieced and square, so I chose to do the borders first. I am working on the bottom border now. I will SID the middle next, and finish with fillers and other design elements last. It is going really well, with the borders looking great and the center of the quilt remaining nice and flat, so I am super pleased with this strategy for this quilt. Carol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjtinkle Posted January 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 As some of you have already said, each quilt is different and one approach might be better on some than others. I am working on a quilt now that has 4 borders, 2 of which are 6 inches wide, with mitered corners. I was terrified of the yards of fullness I might have to deal with on the bottom border if I worked on the whole quilt from top to bottom. I knew that the center of the quilt was well pieced and square, so I chose to do the borders first. I am working on the bottom border now. I will SID the middle next, and finish with fillers and other design elements last. It is going really well, with the borders looking great and the center of the quilt remaining nice and flat, so I am super pleased with this strategy for this quilt. Carol Carol, I'm curious. How do you do all four border without ditch stitching the center of the quilt first? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cegates Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 I pinned along the border seams to keep them straight, and quilted the top border first. I started with SID on both sides of the inner border, then the design for that border, then the seam for the next border, filled it in, and just continued on that way until all the border is done, working my way down the sides of the quilt. I chose designs that were easy to stop and start. I put pieces of tape on the back bar to mark the first seams of the border so that I can keep the quilt straight. Also kept an eye on the middle making sure it wasn't developing any full areas. When I finish the border, I will work my way back up the quilt with SID, then back down again with fill-in quilting. Not sure that this is a very clear explanation. It probably sounds more complicated than it is. This might not be a good technique for a large quilt, the one I'm working on is 80 x 88. Carol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjtinkle Posted January 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 That's a great explanation, I just would be terrified to try that! Maybe I should just stick with pantos. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jclark Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 The only time I've ever had a pleat in my backing was when I tried to SID the entire quilt first then go back and do the rest of the quilting. The quilt was a gift for my Granddaughter's wedding--took me a while to rip all that out so I had no pleat in my backing! I SID as I go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjtinkle Posted January 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 It's so helpful to hear how everyone handles things. I don't get out much, and everything I do is self taught. Every once in awhile it occurs to me that there just might be a better way! LOL I have discovered that I find it MUCH harder to do ditch work on fluffy batting, such as Quilters Dream Wool, than a thinner batting, like Hobbs 80/20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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