Anybody know if hand piecing is a strong as machine piecing?? I wonder if the bobbin thread makes any difference.

Inquiring minds would like to know. :roll:

It probably isn't as strong as machine piecing. However, I have a quilt on my bed with hand pieced blocks. It's now over 10 years old, and the stitching has held up just fine.

Janet

I think it depends on the stitch. I have done some piecing (way back in the day) where I used double thread and a backstitch. I would have double-dog dared anyone to rip that.

It is true...........you gave me a good laugh with the dare!

My first quilt (over 30 years ago) was hand pieced, and it's in great shape after many years of regular use! The fabric has worn in a few areas, but the piecing has held up. I used a single thread and a backstitch every four or five stitches.

To be honest I don't think so, unless you do a lot of backstitching.

I used to hand piece my quilts this way too.

I believe the sewing machine will provide a stronger lock stitch than hand work.

Depends on how you end your seams. If you tie a good strong knot, it should be fine. After all, there are a lot of antique textiles out there where the stitching is holding up just fine.

I have a bunch of antique quilts, and it usually is the fabric that goes, not the thread that stitched the pieces together. Usually it is because of a very narrow seam allowance that some old- time quilters used. The fabric started to unravel. But the threads are still intact.

I'm making a Grandmother's Flower Garden piecing by hand and I sure hope my seams hold!

So would you recommend using single thread or doubling it? I'm DYING to hand-piece something ever since I got Jinny Beyer's handquilting book. Been carrying the thing around with me everywhere, it's SUCH an awesome book!

If I remember correctly, Jinny recommends a single strand of thread, and that's what my teacher recommended, as well.

ditto

I would say yes as hand pieced antique quilts are still holding together :-)

I have some quilts my great grandmother made, all hand stitched and hand quilted and they're in great shape. I've laundered them carefully and have used a couple of them some. The back stitching is important and super little stitches.

I use a single strand of cotton thread, and sometimes poly-cotton if that's what I have on hand. I don't double it.

Janet

I would say yes, but depending on how your hand stitching it.

I pieced a couple of quilts by hand. I think I used single strand on one, double on another. I back stitched every stitch. Still holding up.
For hand quilting I use a single strand.
I do mostly machine piecing and machine quilting. That said, you cannot beat hand work for portability.

Well all I can answer to this is to go by my quiits. I have a quilt of my mothers,hand pieced and handquilted, made in the thirties or fourties,used on the beds,kids played with and on it. washed many times,only now wearing out. The earliest one I made and still have access to is one I made my DGD when she was less than a year old and she has used it constantly since then and is still using it.She is 20 this year.

I'd guess that it would also depend on the quality of the handstitching, too. If your stitch is closer I'd guess it'd hold up a lot more than if you have long stitches.

When I hand piece, I use a single thread and back stitch every 3 or 4 stitches. Do a double knot beginning and ending each seam. Have old quilts that were all hand done and some are well worn with the stitching intact. Some of the fabrics are fraying, but the stitching is in place.

I have some quilts I made over 25 years ago that still look pretty darned good. To this day, I still do all my piecing by hand, with a back stitch every inch or so. I do the hand piecing for 2 reasons. First, I find it very relaxing, but just as importantly, it is always portable, whereas the sewing machine is not so much. Just depends on your preference, I guess.
nanac

My Mom hand pieced and hand quilted all her quilts and some are over 50 years old and the seams are still in tac it's the fabric that gives out.

I have 2 quilts that are at least 60 years old----fabric wearing but not the hand piecing. I would have thought the thread might have deteriorated but it has not.

Hand piecing will last as long as the fabric. The solid back of the quilt takes much of the strain off of the handstitching. The quilting, whether hand or machine done adds additional strength. Don't worry about it not being strong enough to last.

If it's a straight running stitch, hand quilting may be weaker but I've had to rip out seams that I've sewed with a back-stitch every few stitches and it's actually harder to rip out than a line of machine stitching. Think about all the antique quilts, all hand-stitched that have survived for 100 years or more.

I think that hand piecing isn't as strong as machine sewing, BUT that it is strong enough for the average fabrics. IOW, it sounds like the sewing, if done decently, last longer than the fabric.

So, while I can't begin to see how hand piecing could be as strong as machine, it is strong enough.

I have done several hand stitch ones. My son has washed his so many times and the stitching has held up great.

I would not double my thread. I would make a good knot, bury it in the fabric and take small stitches. It should last a lifetime.

I also think handstitching holds up very well, in fact, in most cases it holds up better than the material. I think the quality of the thread plays a big role in it. I have always used quilting thread and not just the regular thread. It seems a bit heavier, I think. I have some quilts that were handed down to me that are upwards of l00 yrs. old and they are just like the energizer bunny - they just keep on going and going and going. I love to hand quilt.

I agree I have salvaged pieces from an 1800's log cabin quilt and it's the fabric that deterioted before the stiches. When I have collected enough fabrics to make a crazy quilt wall hanging I intend to hand quilt the entire quilt.

I have a friend who only hand pieces. Her quilts are beautiful but if people put them on the bed and sit on them a lot some of the seams tend to break. I don't think she back stitches.

I think hand quilting is a strong as machine. You use a heavier thread when you do it. I made my son a hand quilted quilt when he was 2 years old and he is still using it. He's 24. It's been on his bed all this time. He even took it to college with him.

I hand pieced my first quilt in 1983, still in perfect shape. I have several of my grandmother's,way over 100 years old the fabric has worn out in some spots, but the stiching is still holding.

Hand piecing is just fine. The reason you back stitch is if the thread should break it will only come apart 2 or 3 threads. I was taught never to start at the beginning of a seam or at the very end because this is the weakest point. I use a single thread. Never had any problems with thread breaking. Fabric will wear out before that will happen. And, I double dare you to rip out a seam. You must remember, after the top is quilted, there is no stress or pulling on your seams. So machine, or hand piecing...do what you prefer and worry not!
Donna

I took a hand piecing class and the teacher used hand quilting thread for piecing. I had never heard of doing that, but that was the way she always did it. That would be strong.

I hand pieced most of mine over the years. Never had any that came apart. you use a single thread but everytime you start a new needle full you take a back stitch. end with an extra few stitches in place. Holds fine. We still have quilts that my husband's grandmother made all hand pieced and they are still going strong. some of the materials are not faring quite as well.

i am sure my hand piecing is just as strong as my machine quilting since it depends on the strength of the thread being used. i use good quality strong threads and i make tiny stitches. i have had machine stitching come out with time...i have never had my hand stitching come out.
many people piece quilts (and make other things) by hand...they hold up for decades...hundreds of years...the strength depends on the materials used...not necessarily the techniques used

I have one on my bed-- hand pieced hand quilted. 30 years old now!! No problems!! My second quilt!