Big stitch or utility quilting

mailed and posted
Wendy: Look for a book on Shashiko. Could be in quilting or even
in needle work library section. I think you should use the perle
cotton as suggested by several posters. That would make a
definite design statement. If you use the normal HQ thread it
might just look like you were making very large HQ stitches ....
not a design choice but rather a less skilled rendition of HQ.
Clear as mud?
PAT

frood wrote:

I'd like to try some big stitch or utility quilting (I've heard it called
both) for one of my basted, but unfinished projects. I was going to machine
quilt, but have decided that I won't get the look I want, plus, I enjoyed
hand-quilting that wall hanging I did, and want to do some more.

The quilt is Asian-inspired, so I was thinking big stitch would give a
similar look to sashiko stitching.

Are you supposed to use heavier thread? Perle cotton? My LQS does not have
any books on this technique, but I could try my guild library, if I knew
what to look for. Suggestions?