Cutting threads on the back of a pieced top
 

Dear fellow quilters,
If you give your quilt tops to a long-arm machine quilter,
do you cut ALL of your threads on the back, or just the ones that
would possibly show through a light fabric?
Thanks.

I cut all the threads as I am putting the top together, then check it again before it goes to the long-armer. It's the way I was taught to quilt!

I only trim them if they would show behind light colored piecing fabrics.

I trim all my threads as I piece the top. Doesn't matter what color the fabrics are or who's going to quilt it, they all get trimmed as I go.

That's a great question to ask I was wondering the same thing, I always have so many strings I feel like its impossible to get them all.

If you clip as you make your blocks and as you construct the top there is less ) clean up) to do before quilting. Being a longarm quilter I can tell you it is definitely appreciated when the customer delivers a nicely done quilt top. When I have to spend an hour ( or more) cleaning up loose threads it is aggravating and sometimes I have to charge extra for the service. If you only clip the ones you think might show up and leave the rest there will be ones showing through! Mainly because as the quilt ( sandwich) is advanced on the bars those ( left behind) threads move and wind up where you do not want them and it is a pain to try to remove them in the finished/quilted quilt. The backing/batting behind them really enhance them showing up in the top.

I do give my tops a final checkup before sending them off to my LAQ. Since I normally make my blocks a bit bigger, they are freshly trimmed when stitching the blocks together so there are less loose threads.

I clip my threads back to no more than 1/4 inch as I piece. That way they do not get sewn into the seam with a chance to show on the top nor do they have a chance to show between the top and the batting.

I clip as I go. If I see any fraying, I hit it with the fray check.