I would suggest going over everything twice. What I mean is this:

Stitch - - - - - (up down up down) until you're at the almost half-way
point of your thread
Now fill in the blanks (return to where you started, filling in those
empty spots.

Two benefits doing it my way:
#1) IF the thread breaks, it's still going to be there for the other
direction
and
#2) people will think your stitching is REALLY GREAT ('cause they
aren't going to realize you've gone both ways)

And officially let me state right now, even if you only go one way,
USE decent thread. My former spouse's grandmother "saved money" and
used the cheapest thread on the planet. Her quilts fell apart -- at
the stitching. Some of the polyester fabrics disintegrated too. Buy
good thread.