99 Designs Episode #48 – Straight Lines & Decorative Stitches

Want to level up your walking foot quilting game? Try combining straight lines and decorative stitches to create unique motifs that are super easy to do! Click below to watch my latest video tutorial and be sure to leave a comment letting me know what you think!

Get My Book – The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting

In the second book I ever wrote – The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting – I first explored this idea of combining straight lines and decorative stitches. The book itself includes 10 patterns and 20 quilts (each pattern is made 2 different ways). It was fun to explore lots of different domestic quilting ideas, while my co-author Angela Walters explored lots of different long arm quilting ideas.

This book is currently out of print. Click here to get the PDF download version.

In 2 of the quilts I combined straight lines and decorative stitch ideas in 2 different ways. In the quilt called Directionally Challenged (shown below), I stitched straight lines in every other block, with decorative stitching in the alternate blocks.

Directionally Challenged by Christa Watson

Here’s a closeup image of the quilting so you can see more of the detail:

Directionally Challenged quilting detail

In another quilt, called Fractured Squares, I quilted it like a round robin design, with a different walking foot motif in each part of the quilt.

Here’s a closer shot of the quilting detail:

Let me know what you think of combining these two walking foot quilting ideas. It takes just a little bit of planning, but it’s a unique way to stitch and add lots of texture to your quilts!

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