Irishrose2

I agree with smaller stitches and as little handling as possible. When I had a good Northcutt fabric that raveled and I had to use a narrower seam than usual, I stitched a second row next to the first. If I had used a full 1/4", I would have lost part of the horses. The double stitches really didn't take much time.

Doggramma

I saw Victoria Findlay-Wolfe backstitching on the edges of her stitching. I don’t do that, but I’ve been thinking about it.

applique

Fray check dries hard and stiff. Fray block is soft.

Karamarie

I recently bought two pieces of 100 percent cotton at a quilt shop, both priced 12.99 per yard. One raveled a lot, the other not at all so there is a difference in fabric.

sydneybean

But that wouldn't help here as this is after she subcuts the rows. I usually use a smaller stitch when I have to subcut. I do backstitch when I am sewing my rows together when putting the quilt together.

Moira in N.E. England

Thank you for all your suggestions.
I will try a smaller stitch next time I do this.
Fortunately I only needed 4 small strips for a cushion border so I sewed them on as quickly as I could - before the ‘quilting gremlins’ could unpick them when I wasn’t looking!

charlottequilts

I find that it matters how I take the piece out from under the needle. I usually pull it, going in the direction that the thread goes through the needle, giving it a little tug first to tighten the end stitches and then pinch those stitches as I pull the piece out. Otherwise, it's easy to loosen them or enlarge the holes in the process.

I'm not a fan of the thread cutter on either machine, so wasting some thread this way seems ok to me.

hugs,
charlotte

Onebyone

I machine stitch using 1.5 setting. My stitches rarely come undone at the ends. Using a seam ripper takes more time with the small stitches though. If the cut is on the bias I don't take out stitches. That will cause more problems. I make a new one.