I'm just wondering: for the people who seem to maul their fabric and make the seams unravel, wouldn't it be more efficient to wait till you have the top all pieced to trim the threads? A seam trimmed to 1/4" of the fabric is a lot more likely to become unsewn at the edge of the fabric than one that has a couple of inches left to dangle.
Yes, starch would be a big help, and smaller stitches, too. Maybe a beginning sewist would benefit from leaving those long tails until they are sure they won't need to ease that seam, or stretch to fit, lol.