JSchafer

Is it a good idea to baste the edges of a quilt top before doing the machine quilting to prevent any fraying along the edges?

DebraK

I do when i have pieced borders.

ArtsyOne

I wouldn't think so, because as you machine quilt the center of the quilt the fabric will tighten up from the edges. If you've sewn the edges together, they will pull away from each other. Now, if you mean serge along the edges of the top and the backing separately, you could do that.

Ranchwife

I zig zag the edges of the top and backing to prevent fraying. Just can't handle raw edges and fraying - even if it will all be eventually finished and hidden.

Teeler

Nice tip; I imagine this would help with the hate & discontent that is created when I try to put the binding on, too.

Quiltngolfer

After I finish piecing a quilt top, I sew a basting stitch all around the top before sandwiching it to do quilting. The reason I do this is because I don't always do my quilting right away. Sometimes I stack the pieced tops and wait until I have several to quilt. I have found that sometimes piecing around the edges will come apart because I don't lock the stitches. The basting stitch prevents this from happening. I don't baste around the backing unless it is pieced. If I only have one seam in the backing, I press it open and baste across the open seam line at the edges. I hope this makes sense.

mike'sgirl

A friend of mine that did one quilt for me, asked me to run a line of stitching all around the quilt to prevent it from pulling apart when put on the long arm machine. That particular quilt had a border on it, so I think it was just her preference and experience. She had not seen the quilt first, I mailed it to her, so she was just taking a precaution I think.

quiltsRfun

I do the same. For me it's a whole lot easier to handle if I don't have a lot of threads to deal with.

BellaBoo

I glue the edges together.

DebraK

together? What edges are you glueing together?