I’m thrilled that so many of you are enjoying my latest FREEBIE! But I’m finding there is one line in the printable Fabric to Finished Quilt checklist that some of you are wondering about.
What is stay stitching? Why is it recommended?
In this specific example, stay stitching is running a single line of stitches around the entire quilt top before layering the quilt top with batting and backing fabric.
This stitching
- Can be done with a slightly longer stitch than was used for piecing the quilt.
- Should be done about 1/8″ away from the outer edge of the quilt so that it will be hidden in the seam allowance when the binding is attached.
- Is helpful for both quilting on a domestic machine and quilting on a longarm quilting machine.
- Helps keep the edges of the quilt top from stretching during the basting and quilting process.
- Secures any seams that end on the outer edge of the quilt, where the last stitch or so may have a tendency to come undone.
- Helps stabilize any bias edges along the perimeter of the quilt.
It’s pretty quick to do, but it can save you time and frustration down the road.
PLEASE NOTE: I’ve marked it as an OPTIONAL but recommended step; as always, do whatever works best for you!
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