Diatom Quilt Along {Quilting Planning}

A week from today, the 12th and final block and finishing instructions for the Diatom Quilt Along will be released. So, in preparation for the quilt along wrapping up, I wanted to take the opportunity today to talk a bit more about finishing and quilting planning today. First and foremost, I wanted to say I welcome everyone who is quilting along to assemble their blocks in the way that they like. I certainly make a suggestion on how to put the blocks together to finish the quilt top, but these are your blocks and quilt; have fun with it!

Quilting Diatom

Once the quilt top is put together, the next big choice you will face will be how to quilt your quilt. When I tested the Diatom quilt along pattern, I made the Star Setting Twin size. I quilted my Star Setting Twin size version of Diatom with a 3″ spaced crosshatch grid using 50wt Aurifil 2740 (Dark Cobalt).

Diatom Quilting Detail

After the crosshatch quilting was complete, I added a few extra diagonal lines to create “ghost” sawtooth star shapes in the squares between the blocks. It’s a subtle addition, but I really like how it echoes the shapes in the quilt top and leaves the quilt soft and pliable. I think this must be the least densely quilted quilt I have finished in many years!

Additional Lines Added for “Ghost Stars”

To give you a better idea about the extra diagonal lines I added, above is a photo that has all the additional angled lines I quilted to create the ghost sawtooth stars highlighted in red.

Postage Stamp Setting Throw Blank Wireframe

During the Diatom quilt along I’ve been sewing along making the Postage Stamp Throw size, and right now I’m tentatively planning to just stitch in the ditch around all the piecing elements. One of the tools I use to help me decide my quilting plans are blank wireframe images (like above). So, I’ll doodle around ideas and if I come up with something I want to do more, I’ll share about that process.

There are wireframe coloring pages for each of the quilt layouts and sizes included in the fabric requirements PDF. If you would like you download a digital image of your version of the Diatom quilt, you can find them all on the Coloring Pages. Coloring pages for all my other quilt patterns can be found there, as well.