Hi!
I am new to quilting and to the forum, and I have a question. I have been trying to find the answer to no avail, so I would be extra grateful if anyone can help.

I am making a quilt that will go on the floor of a "reading" corner for my son. Its my first quilt and I am doing it in a quilt class.
The cloth is cotton and most of the pieces are big. (60cm x 20 cm)

I wanted to do a zigzag steam on the borders of the pieces, to protect the cloth from loosing threads, but the teacher instructed me NOT to do so at all. (she says it will change the shape of the pieces. I tend to agree)

I am worried that the fabric will loose threads very fast. (its already beginning to do so, and I have not sewn anything yet. ) So I am wondering if there is a way to prevent this from happening OR if it would be ok to do the zig zaf steam on the back of the quilt´s top AFTER all the pieces are sewn together.

Any ideas?
THANKS!

Idiel

Once you sew the pieces together, you will not have any more fraying. All fabric frays a little, don't worry

Some fabrics fray more than others. If you have pieces that really fray, you may want to "pink" the edges (use those pinking shears that cut zig zag lines) after making the seams a little larger than normal.

Some folks use their babylock machines to finish the edges as they piece.

I tend to agree with your teacher that if you zigzag the edges too heavily you may wind up putting a permanent wobble in your pieces.

Are you just worried about the cotton rubbing on the floor to cause the fraying or is there something else that could be a problem? Most of the time, the fraying stops once you put the seams in, but some materials are really not woven together well and could fray more than normal.

Could you please clarify.
Is this just a quilt top or does it have a backing? With a backing there are no visible loose threads.
The edge could be bound and rebound if needed.

Hi, thanks for answering.

What worries me is that I was told to leave 1 cm from the border of the fabric to the sewing machine steam line. So I wonder how long would it take for the fraying to "eat" the seam line.

It happened to me with some costumes I made, and I lost of the job invested in them. I have heard there is liquid, like a glue, that prevents fraying, but its not sold here in Ecuador.

the pink solution seems like a good option. I will buy a pair of zig zag scissors. THANKS!

Sofia

costume fabric is different from quilting cotton, costume stuff does fray a lot more

Welcome to the board from Southern California!

are you making an actual quilt that will have a top, a batting, a backing, and a binding?

if so things will not fray. there's isn't a need to sew a hem in the seams of a quilt to prevent it from fraying.

having a hem within the seam will only cause bulk and make it difficult to quilt.

I have a friend who serges the quilts she makes for her grandchildren since she knows they will be well loved and well washed. She does this because she does not want to densely quilt it because it flattens the quilt too much. Her "utility" quilts have won awards at quilt shows in the area. If you did not watch her make them you would not know they were serged.

I did zig-zag the seams of a quilt for DMIIL since I knew the nursing home does not care how they treat it in the wash. It turned out well.

while you are piecing the quilt top, it is normal to have a few threads here and there. But once you add batting and quilting, it will stop fraying. Just be sure to clip off all loose threads before you add the batting as they might show through. Using pinking shears can be a great idea for a fabric that frays badly, but normally not necessary for good cottons.