Originally Posted by susie-susie-susie
I think you should only strip piece by machine. I think it would come apart by hand. Why do you hand piece, if you don't mind me asking? I do like to do some things by hand--but piecing is by machine only, in my opinion. It seems stronger somehow.
Sue
Part of it is because I can do it wherever I want. On the couch in front of the tv, in the same room as my family, in the garden when the weather's nice. Another part of it is because I like to do it by hand. It calms my mind in a way machine sewing could never do.
I'm not sure if machine piecing would necessarily be stronger. There are quilts older than 100 years around that were completely hand pieced and used, yet still survived to this day. I don't think it matters much.
I make sure to do a backstitch every few stitches and a double stitch at every seam, to make it stronger. That's the way my teacher did it and she's never had a problem with a quilt falling apart either, and she's been doing it for 30 years. So I've never made the decision on hand vs. machine piecing because one was stronger than the other. I just like hand piecing and quilting more than doing it with a machine.