Your opinion on clipping seams?
I have done some blocks lately with a ton of seam intersections, and the only way get things to lay smoothly was to clip the seam to the stitching so that I could press it in two different directions. I put a dot of Fray Check on the clipped fabric out of paranoia. I haven't found much while Googling about this, so I thought I would ask you guys...
Did I do a huge no-no or do you clip seams as well? I did this with one quilt that is finished now, and has been washed twice so far with no signs of trouble. But I would hate to do this and find out in a few years that my quilts are falling apart. |
The quilt I'm working on has the same problem and I decided to clip where necessary.
So far so good. Glad to hear that you have washed your quilt without any problem. While I was doing a little research online there was a famous quilter who said if you can clip when you're sewing clothes, why can't you clip when you're piecing. |
There are a couple of blocks that I do this for. Seam needs to nest in two different directions to make it lay flat and have the points come out well. This is a common practice in garment construction. Just make sure you don't clip the actual thread that you used to sew the seam. Fray check is good insurance, but probably not needed.
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I fan the seams at intersections. I don't like to clip as it weakens the seam. If there is a lot of bulk I will press the seams open.
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Originally Posted by PaperPrincess
(Post 7255746)
There are a couple of blocks that I do this for. Seam needs to nest in two different directions to make it lay flat and have the points come out well. This is a common practice in garment construction. Just make sure you don't clip the actual thread that you used to sew the seam. Fray check is good insurance, but probably not needed.
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I try to avoid clipping a seam - but if/when I feel I need to, I clip each side of the seam allowance separately at least 1/2 inch apart. A drop of fray check - or other fray stopper - is a good thing.
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Originally Posted by Pollytink
(Post 7255756)
Is there a Fray Check that dries soft? What I have dries stiff.
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I am glad to hear others do this as well! I open them where I can, and try to wrangle things as flat as possible without any clipping.Often I can just rip the seams on the outside of the stitching so that I can open the junction... But when it comes to a block where I have a lot of seam points meeting and another junction down the line that pulls the seam back another direction, clipping is the best approach I have found. Without clipping the seams I would have had lots of lumps and bumps. I would have also have hated to hit a lump of 16 layers of cotton while quilting!
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Originally Posted by Pollytink
(Post 7255756)
Is there a Fray Check that dries soft? What I have dries stiff.
You could do another row of stitching just inside the actual seam allowance and that would strengthen where you do the cut. |
I will sometimes take out a couple of the stitches in the seam so I can swirl the seams but I don't clip the fabric.
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