Preventing 1/4" seams from Unravelling
 

Does anyone ever worry about 1/4" seams on a quilt unravelling after a few washes? What do you do to avoid this? Does anyone serge their seams or finish seams with a zigzag stitch before putting your quilt layers together?

Are you tying or quilting your quilt? I have not had the problem but then I do not use the "scant" 1/4 of an inch.

Never had it happen to me. And I've made plenty of quilts. And washed so many of them many times. You cross over the seams with other seams, so you should be fine. And then you either quilt it or have it quilted, so you shouldn't have a problem.

I've not had it happen, but I've only been quilting for 6 years so my quilts are all relatively young. But I will say that yes - I've seen some OLD quilts where the seams have raveled and split. OLD as in antique.

So the question is ... how long do you EXPECT your quilt to remain pristine? It might then be worth it to you to consider using a wider seam allowance. Although I would think there are other factors too that should be considered if one would expect a quilt to last several generations ... guess I never gave it that much thought!!

Since your seams are enclosed in the quilt you should not have any issues with your fabric unraveling, I have used as small as 1/8" seam just making sure my stitches are a little closer together and have not had any issues. My quilts get washed a lot - the one on my bed at least everyother week and it has been 12 years. Keep saying I will make another one for me - but haven't gotten there yet.

There are a lot of antique quillts still in good shape. Those that aren't we have to think about how they were made: hand stitched which is not nearly as small and stable as machine stitching. Fabric dyes back then were more caustic causing some deterioration of fabric (some colors more so than others). We also don't know how much those were used and under what circumstances. I know a lot of the more elaborate ones were saved for special occasions but a lot were used daily under much more severe circumstances than ours will ever be used.

Personally I believe that if you use quality materials, have a good stitch length your quilts will last longer than you will

I have to agree with quiltstringz. If the quilting is close enough, there shouldn't be any stress or movement on the seams, so I wouldn't expect any raveling, unless the fabric is a very loose weave.

I'm doing 3 small quilts for a friend at the moment and they're quilted with stitch in the ditch so there's no overall quilting over all the seams. These quilts are gifts she's giving for Christmas so I decided to play safe and did a zigzag on all the seams as I was constructing the tops. It didn't take long, you wouldn't know from outside and I felt better :)

I've occasionally have had to go with an 1/8th of an inch and even a tad less. I double stitch the seam.
It's been machine quilted and no trouble.
Should it fall apart someday, I and the recipient will be long gone.

I only am concerned if it's a fabric that really wants to unravel or if it's a very loose weave.

I have on occasion used a piece that was skimpy or had a clip in it - and I used fray-chek on those edges.

i've never worried about it either. Cotton doesn't ravel that much, the seams are on the inside and not exposed to the washing machine, so how would they ravel? If there is a place that I'm concerned about, FrayCheck is my best friend! :)

the first quilt i made in 1976 is still around- still used- and no seams have ever frayed...so, no i guess i don't worry about it- once a quilt is layered with batting & backing & quilted there would be no reason for the seams to ravel- unless it is a very loose weave fabric-but i've made quilts with home-spuns which are a bit looser weave & have not had the problem with them either...there is only risk of fraying when it is still an unfinished top...once it is finished the seams are (protected)

When I think about what causes a fabric to ravel, I see seams that are unprotected and loose. A quilt has all the seams pressed flat, are inside the sandwich, and can be crossed over by quilting several times, thus giving the entire quilt more strength. So even tho washed many times, the seams should not ravel as there is no way for the fabric to move. Smaller seams than 1/4" will increase the risk, but like the other posters have said, we've all had to use the smaller seams to make that piece fit, taking extra care to secure that section. I am not afraid of my seams raveling at all.

I think that small stitches and balanced tension are the best ways to prevent a seam from opening.

A friend of mine who was a Project Linus coordinator had a lot of problems with seams popping open on new quilts that she washed before donating to hospitals. So in my mind it is very important to make sure that the seams are secure on my piecing.

It's sort of a physics thing isn't it? Like how people can lay on a bed of nails without being punctured? It completely has to do with distribution. It's very similar...you will notice weaker areas of your quilt will wear quicker...but just think of all those antique quilts that are still around - from way before sergers. ;) You'll be fine. Lol* So will your quilts!

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.

There has never been a problem.

I don't wash until after it is quilted, so it is never a problem....

As a new quilter here, I have to add this comment. I know very little about machines, and I had a brother. My first several tied quilts seams were always opening up. Very frustrating to a newbie (anyone actually). I did some searching and found out with trial and error. Tension was the entire issue. Since I have now bought a self adjusting machine, I no longer have the issue. I have two brother machines in my house and not being used because of it. Will they ever be used...I doubt it. As I could never figure out how to get the tension just right. The one is only 6 months old.

Try a shorter stitch lengh if you are worried.

I have an old quilt that I made about 52 years ago. The seams are now coming apart, however it has been used hard and it has good reason to fall apart. In those days I used cheap thread and fabric and if it lasted that long, it has done all I could ask. I will not mend it, but it still is a dandy for kids to play on in the yard or on the floor or to make a "tent" out of, so I'll keep it for a while yet. How long should we expect our work to last?? If I make quilts now, I won't be here to see them if they fall apart so that's freedom from worry for me! Make them and love them and don't sweat the small stuff!

I think that if you were to look into how to adjust your tension you would find that you have three machines that work well......

When I make quilts for children, when I quilt, I use a stitch that looks like a double sided blanket stitch and stitch in the ditch on every seam. I know these quilts will be thrown in a regular washing machine often.

My dear Step Mother made my oldest boy a small nap quilt when he was born. It got washed a lot and every time I had to repair the seams before letting him have it back. Thats why I do this style of quilting on kids quilts.

I am always paranoid about seams...I have had quilts start showing openings where the seams have raveled. I don't quilt for sale or show, so I really double sew over the seams from the outside. Going against everything I have heard to do, but I don't want my work to come apart. I may be the only one who has the problem, but that's how I deal with it.

The quilt I made with my granddaughter had lots of seams in which the thread broke. They were bias seams in a pinwheel pattern. We tied it. The quilt teachers should have warned us about that. We could have done a shorter stitch length; and a tied quilt is much more likely to have stress on these bias seams. The second one we made a few years later, I took back home and top-stitched every bias seam through the entire quilt. That put a nice patern on the back, too.
Now, I usually FMQ, and love it.
If my seam allowances are too short (sometimes the fabric just doesn't stretch that far, lol) I use fray check.

I too agree that there shouldn't be any problem with 1/4th inch seams, although I have used a serger to seama quilt that I know is going to get a lot of abuse when used, for example when I quilted for my cat and for one of my childrens dogs.

If you use good quality fabric and good quality thread, you shouldn't have a problem. If you use fabric that you can read a newspaper through, you're bound to have issues.

I have a friend (an older quilter) who sergers all of the seams of the quilts she makes for her grandchildren (they are all boys). She said that she did not want them to have issues if they did not gently care for the quilts.

The only time I have had issues with my 1/4" seams pulling out has been when I used some of the homespun fabrics that came out several years ago -- they really raveled. I stay stitched about 1/8" in before I sewed the blocks after I saw what was happening.

When I started quilting I thought the 1/4 inch seam was rather small and I also worried about unraveling. But it seems to be the standard width for so long that if it was causing problems, quilters would have already remedied the situation. So I will bow to the wisdom of the ages and continue to use my 1/4 seams!

It is important to have one's stitch balanced - I have noticed that a seam will pop if one of the threads is really tight and is just 'floating' on the surface.

I really hated to redo those seams - but when that thread pulled out soooo easily - - it was worth the effort.

I had this happen when I purchased some fabric on sale. Apparently it was a bit on the rotten side. I now watch closely when purchasing any fabrics on sale.

If your seams are ravelling then the 1/4" is not the issue. I have old wuilts that have 1/8" or less and they have been washed many times and never ravelled. So stop worrying about it. There are plenty of over seams and wuilting to hold it. If you toss a iece of fabric in the wash does it ravel 1/4". Probably not. S stop worrying.

I actually did have this happen on one of my first quilts and I think it's because I was using cheaper fabric which was probably looser woven (as a beginner). but since using quality fabric, never had this happen since.

I have had "STORE" bought quilts ravel to death. But I have my grandmother-in-laws quilts that I wash constantly still in great shape. Hers were all done by hand sewen and quilted and no problem. Why is that? I guess it gets down to quality and care. I am new to quilting and just for safety's sake I am fray checking every seam. Of course the teachers are just shaking thier heads at me.

If the cotton still unravels easily after washing and drying, then only use it in a quilt that will be closely quilted. Otherwise, it's generally a non-issue.

I've purchased fabric that easily ravelled before it was washed and dried. Washing and drying stabilized it nicely.

I just had this happen to me on my very first quilt! I used a jelly roll pattern and I think some of the strips were frayed to begin with and I didn't notice. Now I am stuck trying to figure out how to fix where they came undone :(

I will only use a scant 1/4" when absolutely necessary, like where several seams meet together. Even then, if you use a standard 1/4" seam it can always be trimmed down to keep things neat. Standard 1/4" also lays better when pressing.

Since I tie mine I have had trouble with the seams fraying. Does that make a difference? It is ones I have made for my granddaughter and daughter. They get used a lot and are washed a lot. Seems I'm always fixinf them. Does it make a difference if they are made of flannel?

Good quality fabric will not ravel with 1/4 inch seams. Poor quality fabric will ravel with a 1/4 inch seam.

Unless you are just using the top, unquilted, no batting, and no backing, I can't see how the seams would ravel. I have once in a great while, had a seam pull apart because it was a scant 1/4" or a loose weave fabric. When the seams are enclosed in the quilt sandwich, there is little chance of the seams raveling, IMO.

In addition to the quality of products used, I really think that a lot of issues can be solved if your machine is working well. No you don't have to have an expensive machine (that is a matter of choice) and I have seen many successul quilters that use vintage or "cheaper" machines. I personally don't know how to explain this but if you are having issues I would ask around at my LQS/Quilt Guild/anywhere you can find experienced sewers to teach you about Tension. With the newer threads available (Aurifil/Masterpiece/etc.) that even though they are 50 wt like Star/Guetterman/Connecting Threads, they actually run through your machine smoother or like a little smaller thread. I think that this is the area that a high percentage of us are not knowlegable. I know that Superior Threads has some great information on Needles and believe that they also do on Tension. Anyone who has any other good sources that might be a great topic. Sorry I am rambling - listening to a conference call for work at the same time