Backstitching

I found that if I am using my computerized machine, that has a backstitching program, it does a 5 stitch backstitch which is way too much and sometimes extends beyond the 1/4' seam line. That is not a problem when using it on clothing construction, and is probably preferable in that process. Therefore, I only backstitch manually so that I can control the number of stitches. I do backstitch though, so that I don't get any seams coming apart during assembly.

Thanks John. I had wondered if they'd come apart either with handling or when laundered.

I really do appreciate all your responses. I'm still learning about quilting......... I'll never know it all. :^)

To repair seams that come loose using an invisible applique stitch is the best way to go. With the proper stitch length and a 1/4 in. seam allowance and fabrics that are not loosely-woven there really isn't any reason they would/could come loose. My beloved Hairy Butt Gang sleeps on my bed on top of my quilt. The quilts are always washed to death by the time they are 2 years old- usually every week or two. I never had a problem with the threads coming loose- that's in the washing machine and dryer using my standard laundry detergent, etc. They wear out from being washed to death long before any seams can come loose!

Leslie, Missy & The Furbabies in still thunder-sleeting MO.

I never backstitch on quilts. I machine wash them with no trouble. Who knows why some people have problems and others don't? Stitch length, perhaps? But when a seam is crossed by another as in patchwork, then pressed under, laid onto batting and then quilted, it sounds pretty secure to me. Just looking at quilts around me as I type, I can't imagine how anything could come loose.

LOL!!!! I know about hairy butt family members. Unfortunately ours all went to that big kennel and cattery in the sky. We're taking a few years off before thinking of replacing them. I'm glad to hear you wash your quilts often and no loose threads yet.

That what I'm wondering, now... what could have gone wrong with Rose's quilts. All I can think of is too loose stitches, too few spi, too narrow seams. Weak "rotten" thread (?). I know she started to backstitch after threads coming loose. To my knowledge nothing ever came loose on my quilts. I never got any complaints from anyone in any case.

That is my experience too, Roberta. I do like to add a long plain border to a quilt so there are not a lot of seams exposed at the edge. The handling of the top can cause those to get loose, but the border controls that. PAT in VA/USA

I do indeed machine wash. I also quilt them pretty closely, not less than 2" apart and usually more like 1". Roberta in D

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Where exactly did the threads come loose? Was it only after washing? Roberta in D

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I like to run a line of stay-stitching around the assembled top before I layer it, so even if there are exposed seams, it won't come apart. I finished a 4-year-old UFO quilt last week that had stay-stitching around the border, and I decided to add a narrow pieced border on the outside. That definitely needed stay-stitching. Then I pressed the thread-basted sandwich because it had some creases in it and it "glued" it together. I was using Fairfield Cotton Classic, and was I surprised when the layers stuck together after pressing! Not fused permanently, of course, and I was able to reposition them where I needed to and re-press. Why had I never tried that before???!!! It made the machine quilting so much easier.

Maria in NE PA

Doesn't that flatten them out too much? The more quilting lines the flatter the quilt?!?!?!!

I use Hobbs Heirloom mostly. It's flat. But lots of texture, after the batting shrinks in the first wash. Makes quilts just the way I like 'em! Roberta in D

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