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Pressing for Easy Machine Piecing

A successful quilt requires pressing for easy machine piecing.

Remember that the back of the quilt needs to lay as flat as the front of the quilt.

When the back looks good, so will the front. That is an old trick I learned from my cross stitch days. And I stitched almost as many cross stitch projects as I have quilting projects. Almost but not quite.

Quilters have mixed opinions on the questions of pressing for their quilt blocks.

Is it ok to use steam?

Can quilting seam allowances be pressed open?

Should you press from the front or the back of the fabric?

There are probably as many ideas about using an iron as there are quilters. One thing they probably agree about - careful pressing for easy machine piecing prepares a quilt block for success.

Here are some thoughts on pressing for easy machine piecing that include some of the methods that most beginner quilters are taught, plus some options you might like to try to improve your pressing for easy machine piecing for your quilt blocks.

Pressing versus Ironing: Ironing involves moving the iron across the fabric to smooth out wrinkles. When pressing, you lift the iron up and set it down again in a new area. Pressing for easy machine piecing if preferred for your quilt blocks and quilt tops to prevent distorting them.

Steam versus Dry: Steam is best for getting wrinkles out of cotton and for making crisp seams for your quilt blocks. Some people worry that using steam will stretch the fabrics, but if you let the pieces cool and dry before picking them up, which takes only a few minutes, there shouldn’t be any problem.

Pressing as You Go: Pressing for easy machine piecing will be more accurate if you press each seam after it has been sewn. Finger pressing works well for hand piecing. For easy machine piecing, however, you will probably get better results with an iron because the quilting seam allowances are sewn down when the cross seams are sewn.

Pressing Toward the Darker Fabric: If a light fabric is thin enough for a darker fabric to show through, press the quilting seam allowances toward the darker one. If this is not possible, the darker seam allowances can be trimmed to 1/8”.

Matching Seams: To create beautifully matched seams, press adjoining quilting seam allowances in the opposite directions. When this can be done, quilting seam allowances lock together as if by magic and they may not even need to be pinned for easy machine piecing.

Planning Ahead: To make sure that most quilting seam allowances lock together, experienced quilters plan ahead. Some quilters make a test block or two before cutting out their projects. With test quilt blocks, you can try out various ways of pressing quilting seam allowances to ease the joining of patches and quilt blocks.

Pressing Allowances to One Side: This makes quilting seams stronger than when they are pressed open because there is a layer of fabric underneath the seam.

Pressing Allowances Open: Quilters occasionally press seam allowances open. This eliminates bulk and makes it easier to quilt across the allowances. It is helpful for working with small pieces where seam allowances can pile up quickly and distort the block. It is also useful for areas where many seams come together in one place as in a kaleidoscope block or eight point stars.

In the traditional way of hand sewing these blocks, you sew just to the seam line in the center, leaving the quilting seam allowances unsewn. After the quilt block is completed, all the quilting seam allowances are fanned in one direction to distribute the bulk.

However, easy machine piecing can stitch all the way to the end of the seam, then press the quilting seam allowances open. You can try both ways and see which one you like best.

If you press your quilting seam allowances open, it’s probably better to choose a cotton/polyester batting, because pure polyester is more likely to show through the seams and spoil the quilt’s appearance later.

Because open seams are weaker, you may want to be careful about when you use this technique. Also, you will not want to stitch in the ditch along open seams. The stitching could weaken the seam even more, perhaps even breaking threads in the seam as you quilt. Try outline or grid quilting instead.

Press from the Front or the Back: Some quilters press seams from the back first. Then turn the patches over to make sure that they haven’t pressed in a pleat at the seam line. If they have, then they press the pleat out from the front.

Here is another method you might want to try. With the darker fabric on top, place the patches that you want to press on a flat surface with the seam allowances away from you. Open the top patch like a lid and press the quilting seam allowances with your iron.

Curved Seams: Curved quilting seam allowances can be pressed toward the patch with the inside curve. It is not necessary to clip the allowances.

Applique Blocks: To avoid crushing applique patches, press only the background fabric. If you need to press the whole block, place it face down over a towel to avoid flattening the applique or causing any shiny spots.

Press seam allowances between quilt blocks in one direction all across the odd numbered rows. Press them in the opposite direction or even numbered rows. This makes the rows easier to sew together because the allowances will lock together at each quilt block seam. After all the rows are sewn together, you can press all the seam allowances between the rows in one direction.

Sashes and Borders: Press quilting seam allowances toward plain sashes and borders. The allowances naturally lay this way, plus the allowances provide some filling for narrow sashes and borders, making them stand out a bit. For pieced borders and sashes, you can press the allowances in the direction they seem to want to go, which is toward the side with the fewest seams.

Quilt Tops: You will want to press your quilt top and the lining just before you layer the quilt. Be careful not to press too much. You want to get rid of the wrinkles, but if you over press, you can stretch the fabrics or cause shiny spots or even scorches.

Pressing for easy machine piecing is key to a successful quilting project.

If you have any other quilting or pressing tips you would like to pass on, please contact us. We will be sure to pass your information on.

Go to Basic Quilting Instructions from Pressing for Easy Machine Piecing Go to Ideas-for-Quilting from Pressing for Easy Machine Piecing