by mcgraw 08 Mar 2008

does anyone know any secrets when stitching in the ditch, i am on my 5th quilt and think i have jumped out the ditch too much. hints would be great. lol mcgraw

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by marjialexa Moderator 08 Mar 2008

I have that "ditch foot" the others were talking about, I like it a lot. Are you using a "walking foot"? That could help, too. Marji

1 comment
mcgraw by mcgraw 08 Mar 2008

yes i use a walking foot and also tried this other foot with the metal piece on it but could not master it so went back to walking foot, i guess it is a lot of practice and patience. lol

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by freida 08 Mar 2008

Normally when you do a quilt you will turn your seam to the dark side. (It's the traditional way to do it) If you have done some basting or a lot of good pinning, your fabric should not slip so much. There is a great little foot that has a guide that rides in the ditch. If you don't have it, just go slow and exercise a lot of control. Some times if the seams in your blocks aren't perfect. It shows up now. Keep at it you may have a ribbon winning quilt.

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by clawton 08 Mar 2008

jrob and mikany just mentioned both of my ideas. Wish you luck.

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by jrob Moderator 08 Mar 2008

I had problems with this too at first and I was told to watch carefully which "side" of the ditch I had ironed the 1/4" seam. That is what seems to make it hop. I finally decided that if I were going to stitch in the ditch I would iron the seams open and that seemed to fix the problelm. Hope this helps.;)

1 comment
freida by freida 09 Mar 2008

be realy stitching in the ditch with your seams open. Seaming over the threads between the stitchs will sometimes break them out making a hole in connecting seams. Guess how I know?

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by mikany 08 Mar 2008

go and buy a specific foot for the machine called different things on different brands ,... but basically could be ditch stitch foot or edging foot...anyway it has a piece of metal attached that you use to follow the ditch or edge of a piece of fabric....then set your needle to follow the metal guide or to a possition a specific distance from the guide and be consistant...go ask at your machine shop.
hope that helps
Mikany

1 comment
mcgraw by mcgraw 08 Mar 2008

thank-you, a flower for u

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