Quilting Tip #19: Pressing Matters

Pressing matters: We are taught early when we learn to piece a quilt top to press our seams in the opposite direction.  This allows us to ‘butt’ our seams for precise, pointy points and square angles.  I call this pressing for construction, and it make perfect sense when you are piecing.

That same pressing, however, means that your seam ‘ditches’ will alternate all over your quilt.  Your Stitch In the Ditch (SID) lines will have to alternate from your blocks to your sashing, from one fabric to another.  This can be a real headache when you layer the top for quilting.

Before you quilt, consider pressing all your blocks’ seams either in the direction of the the blocks, or to the sashing, whichever you prefer.  You get extra points if you press your seams to the darker fabric, where they won’t show on the light areas of the front.  This will allow you to use one color thread and SID on the block or sashing fabric, whatever you choose.  So you want to press your top for quilting after it is finished.  It makes your quilting task that much easier.

7iron

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