Wavy line quilting
Gentle waves across the quilt, 1½" apart, each wave about 4" long. Waves are as quick as straight lines and more forgiving, because no one can tell if a curve wanders.
By Editorial Staff
How to stitch wavy lines
- Fit a walking foot and lengthen the stitch to about 3 mm, 8 to 9 stitches an inch. Roll the sides of the quilt so the part under the machine lies flat, and support its weight on the table so it doesn't drag.
- Steer the quilt gently left and right as it feeds, without stopping. Many machines have a serpentine stitch that makes the same wave for you.
- Use the edge of the walking foot along the previous wave to keep the gap even.
Home machine, longarm or by hand
| Level | How | |
|---|---|---|
| Home machine | Beginner | Walking foot |
| Longarm | Beginner | Freehand |
| By hand | Better by machine | Too dense or too long a line to stitch by hand |
Thread for wavy lines
40 or 50 weight; a variegated thread looks good on waves because the color shifts along the curve.
| Size | Quilt | Stitching | Top thread | Bobbin thread |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crib | 45" × 60" | 55 yd | 76 yd | 76 yd |
| Throw | 60" × 72" | 88 yd | 121 yd | 121 yd |
| Twin | 70" × 90" | 128 yd | 177 yd | 177 yd |
| Full | 84" × 96" | 164 yd | 226 yd | 226 yd |
| Queen | 90" × 108" | 198 yd | 272 yd | 272 yd |
| King | 108" × 108" | 238 yd | 327 yd | 327 yd |
Stitching is measured on the drawing above at 1½". A lockstitch takes about 1¼" of top thread and 1¼" of bobbin thread for each inch it sews; we add 10% for starts and tails. To check your own machine, sew 12", then measure what came off each spool.
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