But we can get us all closer to the same page by defining the pattern according to how it is used. When a wandering quilting line is too big to be called stippling or too small to be called meandering. There is no international reference that magically defines If “stippling” means a really, really small meandering design, then what size does it have to be before it becomes “meandering” and not stippling? Great question! The answer is, it’s a matter of personal opinion. Using contrasting thread for your stippling adds another design layer for your quilt, fitting the word’s definition by creating “an even or softly graded shadow.” Notice how the gold thread used for stippling this border makes it look like the fabric is actually printed with the design? It can make feathers and block designs pop out and come to life-especially if the batting has enough loft to fill up the feathers while the stippling compresses it all around them. Sometimes it can be so tiny that you can barely see the pathway at all! Stitching that small is called “micro stippling.” Stippling is typically used to fill in background fabrics, to add texture, or to highlight appliqué designs.

If we follow those Merriam-Webster Dictionary definitions to describe quilting, size is the differentiator. Stippling can be executed using a meandering pathway, but stippling is small. But more than one quilter has been disappointed after picking up a quilt from the longarm quilter, only to discover that their definitions did not match! Quilters frequently use stipple and meander interchangeably when describing a quilting design that wanders aimlessly across the fabric. To make small short touches that together produce an even or softly graded shadow. To engrave or draw by means of dots or small touches.Ģ.

Meander quilting pattern