5. Press towards the least bulk
Press the seam to the side with the least amount of bulk if there
are several seams in the area. Sometimes this may mean that
you have to press the seam towards the lighter colored fabrics
which is okay if it means that the seam is going to lie flatter.
Seamed pressed to the dark fabric
Pressing seams open may also help to reduce the bulk. Extra
bulk from seams can also cause problems when quilting, such
as skipped stitches, teeny tiny stitches due to the foot getting
caught up on the machine and unwanted bulges.
6. No Steam
Use a dry iron when pressing seams. Steam can distort and
change the shape of the fabric especially cotton. If there's
distortion in the seams there will be distortion in the finished
block which in turn results in distortion in the quilt. It’s a domino effect.
Do I ever use steam? The answer to that is yes. I use it when
I’m pressing my fabrics prior to cutting and when the piece is
finished to give it a nice crisp and flat look.
The image below has had no steam applied to it. I just followed
these great tips for pressing.
The checkerboard top is all sewn together with perfectly
pressed seams thanks to these six pressing tips for perfect
seams. I can now move onto the applique. Tomorrow I’ll be
looking at creating some applique shapes for the top of the
runner and highlighting another super tool I found at my favorite fabric store. I’m not going to tell you what it is – you’ll have
to tune in and find out. Trust me it’s a real cool one.
Nested seams
Perfectly pressed and matched seams
QUILTsocial
.com
| issue 5
19