Single Straight Line QuiltingThere are so many possibilities with single straight line quilting. Many times it is the perfect simple compliment to a very detailed pieced quilt. With the many possibilities available with straight line quilting, it allows us to stay with the simple single straight line quilting or use multiple lines that can add depth and dimension to our quilting projects. Straight line quilting can be the only quilting design done on a quilt or used as the background quilting with applique or any other pieced design. 
Straight line quilting can be done on your sewing machine with the feed dogs engaged (up) or you can use a walking foot. The teeth of the walking foot work with the feed dogs of the machine to move the quilt top and bottom through the needle at an even pace. Sometimes without the walking foot, the upper layers of the quilt sandwich will shift and cause unwanted pleats and puckers. The walking foot prevents the layers from shifting.
Straight line quilting can be used on any quilt, any way you want to.
It can be done in single parallel lines from side to side on a quilt, a grid pattern, diagonal lines, extended lines or double line grid patterns. The possibilities are unlimited. Use a long piece of masking tape or the painters blue tape across the block or quilt as a guide for your stitching. I prefer the blue painters tape because it doesn’t leave any residue on the quilt. Both come in many different widths. To single straight line quilt in a diagonal design, start with the blue painters tape. Begin at one corner of the quilt and align the blue painters tape with the corner in a diagonal direction ending at the opposite corner. Stitch along both sides of the tape. When you complete one row, realign the tape with the line you have just finished stitching. Then quilt the next line. When you use the blue painters tape, your quilted straight lines with always be perfectly spaced. You don’t even need to mark your quilt. Keep the space between your quilting lines complementary to your quilt block pattern. If the background lines around a small pattern are too far apart, the pattern will get lost. If the lines are quilted too close together on a large bed sized quilt, the quilt can be too stiff or warped. The lines can be quilted as far apart as the batting will allow. Or as close as you prefer. If you straight line quilt in the background, you need to be sure to stop and secure your stitches when you come to the motif and start again on the other side of the motif. This is done easily with the use of the blue painters tape. But don’t cut the threads until you have secured them on the other side. Do this the same way as when you start straight line quilting, take a few tiny stitches to secure the new quilting line. You can then continue quilting. Don’t worry about where the design will end up in the corners or sides of your quilt. Just continue quilting until you run out of fabric. Go to Basic Quilting Instructions from Single Straight Line Quilting
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