3 Reasons you should never quilt in the ditch

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“Stitch in the ditch” is a quilting technique in which quilters put their quilting stitches right in the seam of the piecing. This helps the stitches blend in to the seams and accentuate the piecing while being almost invisible.

The term “stitch in the ditch” might be borrowed from dressmaking, where it is used for things like attaching waistbands.

When machine quilting first became popular, stitching in the ditch was very common. It might be because a lot of quilters considered quilting by machine “cheating”, so people tried to hide it.

But eventually free motion quilting and walking foot quilting took over and now there are way more people that quilt by machine than by hand. Quilting by machine is no longer considered a second-class option.

So even though there are so many more options, some quilters still recommend stitching in the ditch.

I don’t recommend it, except in very specific circumstances. Here is why:

It is difficult

It really annoys me when people recommend stitching in the ditch to beginners and tell them that’s a good place to start machine quilting. It’s a horrible choice for a first project because it’s actually difficult to do.

Keeping your stitches right in the seam is almost impossible, even if you use a special sewing machine foot to do it.

Ask any experienced quilter and they will agree. This is one of those techniques that is harder than it looks.

I have even heard quilters call it “stitch near the ditch” or “stitch beside the ditch”.

If you press your seams to one side, then it is even more difficult because your quilt is not flat at that point. One side of the seam has two extra layers of fabric. That won’t be a problem in your finished quilt, but when you are quilting, that means that your presser foot is on uneven ground.

If you press your seams open, that eliminates that stitching problem, but creates problem #2.

It can weaken the seams

When seams are pressed open, then the ideal stitch in the ditch will be right between the two pieces of fabric.

That creates the possibility that your quilt stitches could break the threads or weaken your piecing stitches.

Also, these stitches are not actually holding your quilt top to the batting and backing.

The only way to fix these problems is to not stitch in the ditch. So this is a case where if you are successful at what you’re trying to do, you are potentially causing future problems.

It is boring

Not only is stitching in the ditch difficult and sometimes doesn’t even quilt securely, it is also boring.

Quilting is a great way to add a secondary design to support your piecing. Stitching in the ditch by definition is invisible and only functional. It doesn’t add anything to your project.

The only time the stitching is noticeable is when it comes out of the ditch and then it looks bad.

Even if you struggle with how to quilt your project, there is so much quilting inspiration available that there is no need to be boring.

So when should you stitch in the ditch?

If you don’t want noticeable quilting

The only time you want to use stitch in the ditch is when you want your quilting to be invisible and not noticed.

Often free motion quilters will stitch in the ditch to travel from one section to another. This enables them to move around the quilt without breaking their thread.

I have used stitch in the ditch on a couple of quilts that have a lot of hand embroidery (like the 2023 Block of the Month). That is because I wanted the hand stitching to stand out and machine stitching could have potentially overpowered it.

I needed quilting stitches to functionally hold the layers together, but I didn’t want them visible, so stitch in the ditch was the answer for this situation.

So even though normally I don’t recommend it, It can be helpful occasionally.

Best quilting method for beginners

So if I don’t recommend stitch in the ditch, what do I recommend?

The best quilting option for beginners is wavy lines with a walking foot. Wavy lines are great because there is no need for perfection.

If you’re quilting with straight lines and one line is wavy, that really stands out. If all your lines are wavy, they blend in and it doesn’t matter if they aren’t all the same.

This quilting method is very forgiving, easy to do, and works with most quilt patterns.

If you want to see how to do wavy line quilting, you can check out this tutorial.

To see more beginner quilting recommendations, check out my ebook “Simple Quilting”. This little book has ten easy designs for quilting your projects on a domestic sewing machine.

More Quilting Tips

See more quilting hacks and quick answers to your questions HERE.