![]() They mostly go well with pieced quilts but can be difficult to use with appliquéd or embroidered blocks. Pantographs are usually meant to complement the quilt but stay in the background. Hearts for Valentine’s Day, candy corn for Halloween, pretty decorated eggs for Easter – if you can imagine it, then somebody has probably come up with a design for it. There are swirls and flames and feathers, there are modern geometric designs, you can choose puppy paws or teddy bears or finish off your Christmas quilt with some holly leaves. There are lots of designs available, some of them quite specific, some of them very general. It will cover the whole quilt from side to side, top to bottom. It doesn’t matter if you use piecing, appliqué or embroidery in your quilt – a pantograph design doesn’t stop anywhere. Pantographs are continuous line quilting designs that are stitched across the quilt top without regard to the design. ![]() There are exceptions, of course, but in the majority of cases, an allover abstract design will look better. I personally feel that meander quilting is not the best choice for most quilts when there are so many designs available. Meander quilting also qualifies as an edge to edge design, it is included an the lowest pricing category of edge to edge pantographs. Larger meandering looks good as an allover design, smaller stippling is often used as a background filler design. The scale of your meandering can be as large or small as you want it to be. And of course you want your quilting to be smooth, no corners or jagged lines. So it takes a little preparation to think about which way you want to go without maneuvering yourself into a corner. Meandering is done without any kind of pattern, and the only rule is that you can’t cross any lines. But then again, who really cares about these definitions… let’s just call it meandering, and we will be fine. And there is an even smaller version called micro stippling with the lines no more than 1/8″ apart. Many people think the lines can’t be more than 1/4″ apart but I have also heard that 1/2″ apart still qualifies as stippling. Stippling is small meandering, and there is no consensus on how small it needs to be to be called stippling. So what is the difference between stippling and meander? It’s just size that matters here. Nevertheless it is a timeless pattern that looks good when you want the quilting to stay in the background. It is a good way to practice your free motion skills but it tends to get boring after a while. Stippling is the all over continuous free motion pattern that looks a little like a jigsaw puzzle. Most quilters know the term “stippling” and many have even tried to stipple on their domestic machines.
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