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Ask the Experts:Question: Some people prefer stab stitch for hand quilting. Why? How do you keep the stitch length even on top and bottom when stab stitching? Author and Quilt Teacher Linda Halpin responds… As with traditional hand quilting, stab stitching is a technique in which the quilter places one hand above the quilt and one hand below. The quilt must be held taut in a frame, and the quilter passes the needle from top to bottom and the bottom to top between the two hands to create the stitches. When executed properly, you are able to get stitches and spaces uniform on the front and the back without the aid of a thimble. This motion is easier on the finger and wrist joints. Because you are not loading several stitches at a time onto the needle, less pressure is required to push the needle through the multiple layers. This can be a real advantage for quilters with arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome, as well as those recovering from mastectomies. A free-standing frame is necessary – one that does not require a hand to hold it in position. I quilt all of my quilts, wallhangings to queen size, with a 14” hoop on a stand that sits in my lap. Mark the quilting design on the quilt top before layering it with batting and backing. Baste the layers together in a vertical and horizontal grid of lines about 4 to 5 inches apart over the entire quilt surface, heavily enough to hold the layers together securely while you quilt. Place the quilt sandwich in the hoop so that the layers are tight enough to lie flat. Thread your needle with a 15” to 18” length of quilting thread and knot one end. Place your non-dominant hand – the one you are more clumsy with – on top of the quilt and your dominant hand below. After securing the knot between the layers, insert the needle straight down through the top of the quilt. Grasp the needle from the underside and pull it down through the layers just far enough to allow you to turn the needle around and send it back up to the top. With your top hand, grasp the needle and pull it completely through the layers, completing a stitch and a space. For a perfect stitch the needle must always enter the fabric perpendicular to the quilt’s surface, both on the top and bottom. Understand that the stitch showing on top of the quilt is forming a space on the underside, and a space on the top is a stitch underneath. To make stitches and spaces that are similar in size, the needle must be at a 90º angle to the quilt’s surface when it enters the fabric. If the needle goes in at and angle to the surface of the quilt, the stitch on the opposite side will be smaller than the corresponding space above or below it. Using the first stitch and space as guides for the next stitch and space will also help to obtain uniform stitching. When you first begin this technique, it is natural to want to use your strong hand on both sides of the frame. Fight this urge. Within a very short time, the technique will feel more natural. As you practice, you will develop a rhythm that will allow you to stitch faster and more accurately. If you’ve never gotten the hand of “rocking the needle,” try this technique. It may just be the solution for you to enjoy the process of hand quilting. About the Expert: Linda Halpin is a veteran quilting teacher of 27 years. She has authored seven books. Links to previous Ask the Experts:
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