tidying up the back of a top before quilting

Dear all,

Quilt police aside, how much do you tidy up (for lack of better
phrase) the back of your tops before layering and quilting?

I've finished a top which has a lot of (somewhat) bias edges. There is
no issue with stretching, however all those pieces fray like mad on
the back. Not like actually fraying to make me nervous about the seam
allowance disappearing, but enough that there are little 1/4 - 1/2
inch pieces of thread coming off the edges all over.

The quilt is all bright primary colours (think of all bright kiddies
prints of cars, animals, etc) so I don't see the ends showing through
to the front. But maybe the are feelable?

Do you guys have any opinion? I'm only asking because I'd like to not
spend 2 hours trimming every piece of fabric in that quilt by
scissors, but if I need to, I will.

Thanks,
Hanne in DK

I don't do much tidying on the back, but I'm pretty tidy in the
process. Lots of chain piecing, so very few long thread ends. But the
little threads you describe can be left, as long as they don't show on
the front. If you need to control them a bit more, you can always
spray on a bit of starch and press them in place. I wouldn't cut them.
(It does make me wonder what brand of fabric that was, so I can avoid
it!)
Roberta in D

On Wed, 20 Oct 2010 08:47:33 -0700 (PDT), Hanne
wrote:

Dear all,

Quilt police aside, how much do you tidy up (for lack of better
phrase) the back of your tops before layering and quilting?

I've finished a top which has a lot of (somewhat) bias edges. There is
no issue with stretching, however all those pieces fray like mad on
the back. Not like actually fraying to make me nervous about the seam
allowance disappearing, but enough that there are little 1/4 - 1/2
inch pieces of thread coming off the edges all over.

The quilt is all bright primary colours (think of all bright kiddies
prints of cars, animals, etc) so I don't see the ends showing through
to the front. But maybe the are feelable?

Do you guys have any opinion? I'm only asking because I'd like to not
spend 2 hours trimming every piece of fabric in that quilt by
scissors, but if I need to, I will.

Thanks,
Hanne in DK

It is all different kinds, all makes that have done kids novelty
fabrics in the last 8 years. I'm not kidding, I used like 50 different
fabrics, none of them from the same line (but probably some from the
same manufacturer).

I added strips slightly wonky to squares, then trimmed to a square,
but again wonky. It is these wonky cuts on the outside of each block
that are fraying. I don't have sewing-thread ends at all (strip
piecing), and for this quilt only rotary cut. But the top did travel
during all stages of completion, so that might not have helped.

Thanks for helping me let go of the compulsion to be perfect (which
was already tempered with the need to finish before the big event).
I'll trim the black ones next to the yellow, though :-)

Hanne in DK

On Oct 20, 5:17*pm, Roberta Roberta@Home wrote:
I don't do much tidying on the back, but I'm pretty tidy in the
process. Lots of chain piecing, so very few long thread ends. But the
little threads you describe can be left, as long as they don't show on
the front. If you need to control them a bit more, you can always
spray on a bit of starch and press them in place. I wouldn't cut them.
(It does make me wonder what brand of fabric that was, so I can avoid
it!)
Roberta in D

On Wed, 20 Oct 2010 08:47:33 -0700 (PDT), Hanne

wrote:
Dear all,

Quilt police aside, how much do you tidy up (for lack of better
phrase) the back of your tops before layering and quilting?

I've finished a top which has a lot of (somewhat) bias edges. There is
no issue with stretching, however all those pieces fray like mad on
the back. Not like actually fraying to make me nervous about the seam
allowance disappearing, but enough that there are little 1/4 - 1/2
inch pieces of thread coming off the edges all over.

The quilt is all bright primary colours (think of all bright kiddies
prints of cars, animals, etc) so I don't see the ends showing through
to the front. *But maybe the are feelable?

Do you guys have any opinion? I'm only asking because I'd like to not
spend 2 hours trimming every piece of fabric in that quilt by
scissors, but if I need to, I will.

Thanks,
Hanne in DK

On Wed, 20 Oct 2010 10:47:33 -0500, Hanne wrote
(in article
):

Dear all,

Quilt police aside, how much do you tidy up (for lack of better
phrase) the back of your tops before layering and quilting?

I've finished a top which has a lot of (somewhat) bias edges. There is
no issue with stretching, however all those pieces fray like mad on
the back. Not like actually fraying to make me nervous about the seam
allowance disappearing, but enough that there are little 1/4 - 1/2
inch pieces of thread coming off the edges all over.

The quilt is all bright primary colours (think of all bright kiddies
prints of cars, animals, etc) so I don't see the ends showing through
to the front. But maybe the are feelable?

Do you guys have any opinion? I'm only asking because I'd like to not
spend 2 hours trimming every piece of fabric in that quilt by
scissors, but if I need to, I will.

Thanks,
Hanne in DK

Almost none unless I think it will show through the top. I figure the
fraying will be locked in once I finish quilting and binding.

Maureen

On Oct 20, 10:47*am, Hanne wrote:
Dear all,

Quilt police aside, how much do you tidy up (for lack of better
phrase) the back of your tops before layering and quilting?

I've finished a top which has a lot of (somewhat) bias edges. There is
no issue with stretching, however all those pieces fray like mad on
the back. Not like actually fraying to make me nervous about the seam
allowance disappearing, but enough that there are little 1/4 - 1/2
inch pieces of thread coming off the edges all over.

The quilt is all bright primary colours (think of all bright kiddies
prints of cars, animals, etc) so I don't see the ends showing through
to the front. *But maybe the are feelable?

Do you guys have any opinion? I'm only asking because I'd like to not
spend 2 hours trimming every piece of fabric in that quilt by
scissors, but if I need to, I will.

Thanks,
Hanne in DK

Hi Hanne -- I can't tell you how to tidy up the threads, but I can
tell you how
NOT to. I got the bright idea to use embroidery scissors to clip
threads,
then pick them up with a lint roller. The lint roller just makes
bigtime
ravelling, so I chucked it right away. Unfortunately I kept clipping,
got
careless and cut a hole right in the fabric. Duh.
I don't bother with it anymore. Can't tell the difference in the
finished quilt.
Good luck!
Sherry

On Oct 22, 12:42*am, Sherry wrote:
On Oct 20, 10:47*am, Hanne wrote:



Dear all,

Quilt police aside, how much do you tidy up (for lack of better
phrase) the back of your tops before layering and quilting?

I've finished a top which has a lot of (somewhat) bias edges. There is
no issue with stretching, however all those pieces fray like mad on
the back. Not like actually fraying to make me nervous about the seam
allowance disappearing, but enough that there are little 1/4 - 1/2
inch pieces of thread coming off the edges all over.

The quilt is all bright primary colours (think of all bright kiddies
prints of cars, animals, etc) so I don't see the ends showing through
to the front. *But maybe the are feelable?

Do you guys have any opinion? I'm only asking because I'd like to not
spend 2 hours trimming every piece of fabric in that quilt by
scissors, but if I need to, I will.

Thanks,
Hanne in DK

Hi Hanne -- I can't tell you how to tidy up the threads, but I can
tell you how
NOT to. I got the bright idea to use embroidery scissors to clip
threads,
then pick them up with a lint roller. *The lint roller just makes
bigtime
ravelling, so I chucked it right away. Unfortunately *I kept clipping,
got
careless and cut a hole right in the fabric. Duh.
I don't bother with it anymore. Can't tell the difference in the
finished quilt.
Good luck!
Sherry

Oh, Sherry, that's terrible! I normally use a piece of scrap batting
to pick up bits. It may leave a bit of cotton fluff behind, but then
this is right before I layer the quilt anyway.

Hanne in DK