Originally Posted by
Stitchnripper
I understand about leaders and enders - but as far as piecing two quilts at the same time - if the two patches sewn together as leaders don't bunch up why would the regular fabric? Folks don't seem to need a "pre-leader" where ithey start in the middle of the patch
We're talking about 2 different things. If you start a patch as a leader
in the middle of the patch, then it's just a scrap with only one function; stopping thread nesting or fabric bunching as you start sewing. This patch will eventually get full of thread and will be thrown away.
Bonnie developed her technique with the idea that instead of using a scrap to stop nesting/bunching, why not simply sew 2 other pieces of fabric together - fabrics you're using for another quilt instead of the one you're currently working on.
So - you piece the fabrics for quilt A. You end with a leader, but instead of it being a scrap, it's patches for quilt B. That piece (the "ender") stays in the needle until you're ready to sew again, and becomes the "leader" for your next batch of piecing. That way you're stopping the nesting/bunching; that 6-12 inches of thread is not wasted; and you're getting half the work done on quilt B as you go.