Whether you make your quilts by hand or with your sewing machine, you will be working on the piecing and stitching on quilt blocks to make your new quilt, and there will be a lot of seams to press, the question is what is the right way to do it when making a quilt?
Pressing Quilt Seams Open VS To The Side? When pressing seams open they will lay flat and it will help you to work with ease, but when pressing seams to the side, your blocks made with small pieces of fabric will be strong enough to last for many years.
When I was learning how to make my first quilt project, a patchwork pillow, I was told by the teacher to press seams always to the side, later as I made some good friends who share the same passion about making quilts, some of them started to press their seams open.
Today as I write this blog to share some tips of what I’ve learned from making a few quilts with you, I’m also learning more about the right way to make a quilt.
At the time of pressing a seam when making a quilt block, there will be a few reasons why to keep doing this step the old way, and some reason why to press your seams open, so let’s take a look to each one.
Pressing Quilt Seams To The Sides
Quilters around the world have been making their quilts for many years (centuries) and there are many quilts that are in good conditions today, no matter how many years they have and no matter how much they were used, and there’s one reason for this, these quilts were made the right way.
Making a quilt today can take lots of time and work from the quilter who makes it, and also making a quilt can cost some money, I’m sure you know this well.
For this reason every time I’m making a quilt, I want to be sure the quilt is well-made and it will last for many years, and I have seen some quilts can last for a long time and the only problem was the fabrics were not good and the colors started to fade, but the stitching and the quilting were like the first day.
Pressing your seams to the side will make your seams to last for many years, as your quilts will have the strength needed to last in good conditions, no matter how big or small the pieces of fabric are.
One thing that some quilters don’t like about pressing seams to the side is that some blocks will have lots of seams and the seams will be thicker than normal, and it will be harder to work on the quilting, whether it is done by hand or with a sewing machine.
When pressing quilt seams to the side, it’s easy to press every seam as you work on the making on each block, and it’s said to press the seams to the side of the darker fabric, this way it will hide better on the pretty side.
Pressing Quilt Seams Open
When pressing quilt seams open, you will spend more time to open each seam, as you might be working with small pieces of fabric most of the time.
If you’re making a quilt block with small pieces of fabric, many times you will be pressing more than two fabrics folded in one place, getting these seams flat will be hard work for any beginner or even to the most experienced quilter, for this reason some quilters have decided to press their seams flat.
When pressing quilt seams open, you will get seams on both sides of the seam, and it will show on the pretty side of the quilt, you will need to keep this in your mind at the time to plan how to do the quilting by hand or with your sewing machine.
One thing to keep in your mind when if you press your seams open, is that the seam will have not the same strength as the seams that pressed to the side.
When working on the quilting with the stitch in the ditch method, you’ll be stitching on the thread, it will be easy on the fingers to work this way, but your quilt will have not the same strength.
Pressing Quilt Seams Open VS To The Side, Closing Thoughts
As a quilter myself I must say I keep working on my quilts as my first teachers told me, but I’ve pressed the seams open just a few times, and it will depend on the quilt pattern and design.
Today, when making a quilt, most quilters will agree on one thing: It’s my quilt, it’s my rules! But it’s always better to know when to do one way or the other.
Let me know in a comment, how do you press your seams, and if you have a tip to share.
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