The only 1/4 inch seams that I saw that popped open was on a friend's tied quilt that was washed in a washing machine. The person who tied it did it about every 8 or 9 inches apart, so that was quite a stress on all the seams, with no reinforcements. A good quilting job not only holds the quilt together and keeps the batting from shifting, it stabilizes all the seams so they don't pop or move when it's washed.