Newbie-SITD

The ditch is what you get when you press seams to one side. 3 layers of fabric next to 1 layer will create a slight ridge. There's also a little ridge around applique pieces. If you want to outline pieces "in the ditch", you need to stitch just next to the ridge on the low side. (If you press your seams open, then no ditch forms. Do Not stitch right over the seam stitching, it's too much strain on these threads.) It's not always easy. Seams get pressed in different directions, and there will always be intersecting seams. I usually avoid the ditch, but sometimes it's just the best quilting plan. So I generally decide to stitch along the lighter side of each seam, which will usually be the ditch side, and do a teensy little jog at intersections if necessary. A walking foot helps a lot. But free motion is good too. The key is Practice! You want to avoid extremely wonky lines that wander up over the ridge and back down, and look like you have no control over your machine :-) Roberta in D

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Adding to what Roberta said: I always go very slowly when doing this. Also, consider where your best light is coming from and position your work so that the low side is nearer the light. Otherwise, when you are trying to sew along the low part of the ridged seam, the line you want to follow will always be in shadow - try it and see! It makes an enormous difference. I usually would start in a corner. Then when you approach a turning point, make the last stitch by turning the hand wheel so that the needle goes into the turning corner exactly. I think that is one of the things which detracts from good SITD, when there are eight gaps between the last stitch and the corner or the stitch goes up onto the bit of ridge beyond the corner. . In message , hmharris writes

But if you miss the ditch a little a few times, don't agonize over it. Remember the "galloping horse" rule -- can you see the goof from a galloping horse? If not, it's okay to leave it. Unless you are entering a judged quilt show, no one else is going to closely examine every stitch in your quilt and it is unlikely that anyone will notice, much less comment on, the places where you strayed a bit from the ditch.

Julia > Adding to what Roberta said: I always go very slowly when doing this.

My SM has an in the ditch foot. I also have a 1/4" foot, well, the ditch foot looks like that except the ridge is in the middle. This helps you easily navigate in the ditch without getting wonky. Check your attachments to see if you might have one of these.

You can also use either an open toe foot or an edge joining/stitch-in-the-ditch foot to do this. Loosen the pressure on your pressure foot to reduce the "drag" of the pressure foot on the top fabric. The open toe foot really helps you see where the needle is going, but the edge joining foot has a "keel" that rides right along the ridge of the seam and sort of "opens" it a bit to help stitch right in the ditch of the seam.

Pati, > But if you miss the ditch a little a few times, don't agonize over it.

is the 'ridge' on that ditch foot underneath? i guess it must be. hmmmmm. i wonder if i've got one. as soon as ds and his g/f move out i'll be able to rearrange the sewing room and get back into some sewing. in the meantime there is just too much stuff in too small a room and i need to get my quilting frame in there so out goes some of the furniture but not til there is room downstairs for it. sigh.... i love having them here but i'd become used to only three to cope with in the house. oh well. jeanne

That works, too, but I think I would rather use the walking foot so all the layers feed through together. I'd rather have less than perfect stitch in the ditch than tucks and pleats in the backing.

Julia > You can also use either an open toe foot or an edge