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Old 05-13-2013, 04:40 AM
  #31  
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I sometimes back stitch but only out of habit. I remember Mary Ellen Hopkins saying you don't need to back stitch because you're going to sew over it anyway.
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Old 05-13-2013, 04:43 AM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by quiltmama22 View Post
Also on four patches & nine patches ---any block where you want your seams to turn in opposite directions. As you press, allow the few stitches at the intersections to pop open so the iron can
smash them down flat. (Makes the cutest little "four-patch" on the back.) This greatly reduces
bulk, makes a smoother looking surface from the top side, and makes it easier to FMQ as your machine will glide over those intersections much more easily.

Learned this years ago in a class with Georgia Bonesteel (the original queen of QAYG). She in turn learned it from a student in Billings, MT so Georgia called it the "Billings Bonus".
The cute little four patch on the back is the way you know if you did it right. A "master quilter" from our guild said she would never do that because she thought the seam would unravel further. But when you press your seams like this you don't cut off any thread. The little seams seem to just pop open, but sometimes I have to lift one thread. Just don't cut it off.

If you iron all your seams in a clockwise direction, (or counter-clockwise, just they are all done the same) the four patches will nest with the next one no matter which way you turn the colors in the 4-patch.
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Old 05-13-2013, 04:53 AM
  #33  
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I never use a lock stitch inside of a block. I do use it on sashing and borders however.
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Old 05-13-2013, 05:00 AM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by Nammie to 7 View Post
No question is dumb - it is so much better to ask a question about something that puzzles us - at least that way we can find out why some do it this way and some do it that way. So many times in quilting there isn't one "correct" way to do something - I can think of at least 6 different ways to do 1/2 square triangles for instance - you just pick what works best for you.
What she said.
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Old 05-13-2013, 05:21 AM
  #35  
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I frequently use the lock stitch while using the buttonhole stitch to do machine applique on quilting projects.
It takes the place of pulling threads to the back and knotting them to secure the applique stitching.
It also saves a lot of time.
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Old 05-13-2013, 08:55 AM
  #36  
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I only have one thing to say : The Only Dumb Question IS. The one you don't ask
Enjoy Your Day
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Old 05-13-2013, 09:14 AM
  #37  
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No question is dumb, I do not back stitch on my quilt tops. In my many years of quilting I have ask a many dumb questions.
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Old 05-13-2013, 10:58 AM
  #38  
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here is another quilter that does not backstitch or lock stitch. I might start running a line around the sides of a finished top though. Never thought about doing that before. I usually hand my tops on hangers in the closet until I quilt them so there is little handling of them in-between quilting sessions.
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Old 05-13-2013, 11:02 AM
  #39  
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No question is dumb. That is the way we learn. I am 70+ and still learning. That is why I enjoy this site. I never backstitch or lock ends of seams. I only do this if the pattern TELLS YOU TO.
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Old 05-13-2013, 11:08 AM
  #40  
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Not a dumb question at all .... so glad you asked it because I have fear of everything unraveling if I don't lock the beginning and end .... guess there is no need to worry so much !!
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