I had another great question from a visitor to my blog this week about how to keep the lines even when quilting a grid without marking the quilt first.

Here is the comment from Lisa:

I am quilting the grid pattern. Is there a easy way to keep my lines even. My walking foot makes them to close together if i use the foot as a guide. I really dont want to have to mark my whole quilt

And here was my reply:

Lisa, that is a great question. And I know that marking can take time away from quilting. But with grids sometimes marking is best. However there can be another solution.

Draw your grid onto a piece of thin tracing paper, then lay the paper over the quilt top and sew through the paper. When done quilting you can simply tear the paper away.

This method still takes time to draw out the lines but on paper. There are no lines to remove, and it is much easier to mark paper then a thick quilt.

You could also use some sort of reprinted grid paper to follow as well.

Dream weaver quilts has another method. I have not tried this one personally, but it is worth reading.

Thank you for your question and for visiting my blog.

Grids are great fillers for backgrounds or all over designs. They can be tedious to mark ahead of time but if you want them to be even you may want to pre-mark the quilt. It is always easier to mark before creating the quilt sandwich. Once the batting is layered it can be thick and lumpy, making it more difficult to mark. I know this is not always possible or practical. (truth be told I tend to mark after the sandwich is done if I mark at all)

Some machines have a special attachment for the walking foot to aide in the no marking grids. This simple adjustable attachment rests on the quilt and allows you evenly space your lines.

This blog  If only I had chocolate shows a good picture of a walking foot and guide. The guide (long thin metal piece)  fits into the hole on the side of the walking foot.  You place it at the distance you want so that the edge lays on the previous sewn line.  keeping all your lines even.  You could measure and mark the metal rod with paint and so you know exactly how wide the lines will be. Example red line is 1 inch, blue line is 1.5 inches and green line is 2 inches etc.

You may want to see if you can get a guide and a walking foot for your machine.  I know there are generic ones available.  Most machines are either low shank, high shank or slanted shank.  Once you know what your machine uses you can then find the right one.  If you are in doubt, ask at the shop where you bought your machine or where you take it for maintenance.

If you have quilting questions you would like me to answer please post them in the comments section in the Online quilting help section of my blog.