I see this as two questions -

1 - Do you physically clip the seam allowance?

Only on curved piecing and only if absolutely needed.

2 - Do you clip the threads at an intersection to swirl?

Always - especially if I am doing pinwheels. As I do my own LA'ing my machine is very susceptible to bumps. I am not computerized so when I hit a bump I tend to jerk and end up having to rip out.

I too started my sewing on clothes (lots of clothes for many many years). The difference I see - imho - is that in quilting you have the added support of batting, backing and quilting to support and fortify any thing that you have done with the seams. Those fortifications are not there in clothing construction and the clothing seam must stand on its own. So I think that the clothing seam has to take much more pushing and pulling than a quilt seam. Therefore I am very conservative on those.

If you sew an accurate 1/4 inch seam you don't need to clip curves when doing curved piecing. Place a pin on each end and in the middle. Use a stilleto to move your fabric edges together and sew slowly.

I hand-piece my curves. I find machine-piecing curves very, very aggravating, but enjoy doing them by hand.

I am interested in this good information. It is a different perspective from someone who does LA.

I can see worrying about the seam when 6 or more seams come together at one point; a mini-volcano occurs sometimes and the piece will not lie flat. Beat the dickens out of it if that helps. I do unpick a stitch or two or three to make the seams more relaxed and then they will lie flat.

My first quilt, made 20-22 years ago, has been used and abused in our family room. It's been washed at least 50 times, probably more. It's a log cabin and was made following Eleanor Burns QiaD method - thus intersecting seams are swirled, but they are not clipped in any way.

At intersections, you are rolling the top seam intersection away from the bottom seam intersection and pressing. There's no clipping. Clothing is stressed in a completely different way than quilts are, with pulling against joined seams occurring as a result of normal wear.

My quilt was made using W&N batting and was tied rather than quilted. Not one open seam yet, knock on wood.

A swirl or twirl seam will make a four patch of the seam. You have to remove the threads not in the seam, not clip the fabric. Lots of pictures and tutorials online how to do it.

Thank you for the advice - often wondered how this could be good after many washings. I did it in a class but went home and covered it in Fray Check.

[QUOTE=eparys;7259404]
2 - Do you clip the threads at an intersection to swirl?
Always - especially if I am doing pinwheels. [QUOTE]

We have just been told in another post to NOT cut off those threads. If you clip the threads close to the intersection, seam is likely to come loose. Those threads should be loose, but not clipped off.
Most of the time I find that I just twist that center seam, and it pops open. Then lay it down into the 4-patch and press. Leave the extra thread there as is. Sometimes I have to pull out one loop, but not often.

I'm a clipper! If clipping a curved seam that has a lot of tension and stretching is ok. I really can't see why clipping a seam that has very little tension on it is bad. It seems to me that the curved seam would be more likely to fray than the straight seam. I'll also admit that when I first started quilting I didn't clip or swirl. My quilts are quilted on a domestic machine or on my frame quilter, both hate bulk. Even hand quilters will tell you that the less bulky the seam the easier it is to quilt. I've had many issues with leaving seams bulky. If Sharon Schambers can clip so can I. I'm sure you've heard of her. She wins big and museums buy her quilts. If clipping is good enough for the her it's good enough for me.