Pressing quilt seams is a crucial step of any quilt making process not only will it make it easier to join your blocks, it will also make your finished creation lie flatter and look so much more polished. If you prefer to open all the seams, press from the wrong side and gently press the seams open along the seam line. However, that which is one of the most pleasurable moments in piecing and quilting can also do the most damage. In this video i share with you my tips for pressing your patchwork. The example below shows the directions seams are pressed, block by block, row by row in a nine patch quilt. Pressing quilt seams to the side or open the spruce crafts.
You must plan ahead so that at each intersection the seams are pressed in opposite directions. Pressing quilt seams national quilters circle youtube. Tips for pressing seam allowances in quilt blocks youtube. Dont stitch into the seam line or press your seams until you finish your block. Press the newly sewn seams all in the same direction. I so want this method to work, and everyone who tries it. Pressstripsandseamsquilting a few words about ironing. Match the patchwork seams in your work perfectly every time with this quilting tip so simple youll wonder why you didnt think of it yourself. Quilt tops are flatter when seams are pressed open.
Pressing entails gently lowering and lifting the iron. Learn the methodology for pressing quilt seams in this instructional video from national stitching circle. Pressing the seam will help you sew on the next triangle more accurately, so dont skip this step. This term refers to pressing the seams of your patchwork after you sew two pieces together. Nesting seams means pressing the seam allowances in opposite directions. If you make a mistake during one of these stages, the. Pressing seam allowances open press open when lots of seams come together in one spot, creating too much bulk.
To keep a patchwork block neat and square with beautiful matching points, youll need to press your seams as you sew. Remember that while you are pressing the seams open, you dont want to make the rest of your seams all folded and wonky. May 19, 2014 some quilters prefer to press their seams open to make the quilt top lay flatter, but i usually prefer to press my seams to one side, which allows me to nest my seams and have nice intersections without using pins. The fabric that the seam allowance will be pressed toward should be. Patchwork and quilting are often combined in the same project, but these two have different techniques. Pin your rows together, matching up the block seams. Mar 28, 20 first of all, pressing quilt seams is not ironing. Watch this video to learn a great way to evenly distribute seams.
Utilize these pressing techniques and see how beneficial pressing can be for your own quilts. Repeat the process to assemble the other half of the block. Dana jones demonstrates stepbystep instructions on how to set your seams by pressing with a hot iron. I truly believe that there is an artist in everyone. Perfect points make a quilt and you can stitch them. Like many of you, i took many quilting classes that taught me to press my quilt seams to the side actually to the dark side.
Also a little disconcerting that it took me so long see, i had learned about nesting the seams and pinning and such before, but the day before yesterday the stars aligned, the heavens opened up and, i understood. On the other hand, quilting is sewing together three layers that make up a quilt the top, the central wadding, and the backing. Press your pieced unit in the closed position to set the seam. Nesting seams and other tricks to avoid speed bumps in your quilt. Patchwork quilts are captivating to look at, and exciting to create. Pressing picking a hot iron up off your fabric or quilt top and then putting it down in another place to remove the wrinkles. Mar 16, 2015 pressing quilt seams to the side is faster than pressing open and makes it easier to lock seams in place, sort of like a puzzle. Some quilters might prefer to finger press, but pressing quilt seams with an iron is really your best bet. I like to press my seams open because it reduces seam bulk, but you can also press to the side if you prefer.
Here, however, the seam allowance is pressed toward the reddarker fabric. It gives you that little added help in a clean seam intersection. I have sewn my two pieces together and i now need to press open my patchwork. Pressing quilt seams quilts, sewing projects for beginners. Youll see pressing notes in most quilt instructions. At the end of the day, the most important thing is to find what works best for you and yields the best results for your work. Press the seams to one side i pressed to the darker fabric again. Pressing quilt seams to the side is faster than pressing open and makes it easier to lock seams in place, sort of like a puzzle. Set the iron down on top of the unopened unit to set the seam. This occurs because seams are pressed to opposite directions when sewing sections together. Swirling seams is a technique eleanor burns popularised. Then arrange the pieces in the exact order to see if colors fit together. I use the first block as a bit of a test on how to press the seams unless ive made a test block and then follow that for the rest.
I keep coming back to pressing all my seams open so i can actually see the seams. Fanning seam allowances to achieve a smooth and even quilt top, its important to consider how the seam allowances come together. Quilting involves a lot of pressing, from the fabric to the seams to the patchwork of pieces. The term nesting seams simply means aligning the seams of each row so that they not only line up nicely but seem to almost fit together perfectly like a puzzle piece. But for the easiest and quickest patchwork quilt a beginner quilter could sew click here to see the quilt, nesting the seams is the best pressing option. To achieve a smooth and even quilt top, its important to consider how the seam allowances come together. I have been piecing quilts on and off for a few years, but it is only now that i managed to make my seams match. Learn in 2 minutes how to do swirling seams in a 9patch quilt. Pressing is an important part of the seaming process, and keeping track of the direction in which you press the seams between the pieces becomes part of how well the seams line up as you build the quilt top. How to nest seams theres one thing that many of you have discovered when sewing along to the modern hst sampler, and thats the bulky seams that sewing with halfsquare triangles can bring. Sep 18, 2018 press the seams to one side i pressed to the darker fabric again. To stitch a y seam, stitch the first seam and backstitch at the end as normal, but dont cut the thread. I tend to finger press as i go and then, like you, press with an iron once the block is done not always, but usually. Mar 04, 2014 if i have stitched together a bunch of points and bulky intersections, i am going to press my seams open.
Jan 29, 2019 quilting involves a lot of pressing, from the fabric to the seams to the patchwork of pieces. Then, normally, you would press your seam to the darker fabric. When you think about it, if your seam has been pressed open and you look at the seam from the right side, you can actually see the stitches of thread that are holding your seams. And quilting is one of the best ways to share your inner artist. Kathy patterson of mccalls quilting shares tips for saving time by chain piecing quilt units, and pressing seam allowances to lie in opposite. For each tutorial, the guest designers and i provide the pressing instructions, however you are always welcome to press them differently if it works. How to make an easy patchwork quilt the seasoned homemaker. I dont like doing this because 1 its timeconsuming, and 2 it weakens the quilt top at all the seams. If you make a mistake during one of these stages, the entire project can go south in a hurry. Sep, 2017 press the newly sewn seams all in the same direction. As much as i love detailed and more involved quilt patterns there is something so charming to me about a simple patchwork quilt. Ironing is a more aggressive backandforth motion of the iron along the fabric that can pull and distort shapes. I charge them a nickel every time i find that they dont. Pressing seams open seam allowances are pressed open when multiple seams come together in one area.
However, there are times when we just want to make an easy quilt for a quick win. I like to press my seams open because it reduces seam bulk, but you can also press to the side if. Jun 06, 20 so you can use your iron with steam or without steam, and the first thing you should do is set your seam by pressing it closed. So you can use your iron with steam or without steam, and the first thing you should do is set your seam by pressing it closed. A little tutorial on making practically perfect points in. If i have stitched together a bunch of points and bulky intersections, i am going to press my seams open. This means simply pressing downwards on the seam with the iron from above and not moving the iron back and forth which can distort the block or seam. I usually press seams to one side, but am thinking that i should try open now and then. It is exciting to see your work pressed flat and how good your block looks. Nesting seams flat quilt tops and accurate piecing getas. Just why do we quilters follow the rule of pressing seams towards the darker fabric.
Place the patchwork on your ironing board, unopened, just as it was sewn. Some quilters prefer to press their seams open to make the quilt top lay flatter, but i usually prefer to press my seams to one side, which allows me to nest my seams and have nice intersections without using pins. Mar 20, 20 pressing is an important part of the seaming process, and keeping track of the direction in which you press the seams between the pieces becomes part of how well the seams line up as you build the quilt top. Learn how to ensure the blocks in your quilts are the same size and your quilts finish. Its a simple way to reduce bulky seams and still press the seams to the side.
You set the seams before you press open your patchwork. Hi im jennifer, here with another machine minute brought to you by baby lock and. When to use steam and starch in patchwork quilt books. This is done through a combination of pressing, pinning, and stitching. Flatten the seams so that quilt will have a straight look when done. Nesting seams and other tricks to avoid speed bumps in your quilt patchwork posse learn how to aviod speed bumps in quilts nesting seams, pins and other tricks.
You are going to have people that swear by another way. Pressing seams starting with the darker fabric on top, open up the dark fabric piece and press along the seam line. In technical terms, this helps smush the fibers of the thread into the fibers of the fabric. Making a simple patchwork quilt is a great way for beginners to get the hang of stitching blocks of fabric together then stitching those blocks into rows. Mar 19, 2014 dana jones demonstrates stepbystep instructions on how to set your seams by pressing with a hot iron. Turn the panel over and press from the front to help flatten out the seams a little more. Normally i press to the dark side, but to get a more overall flat quilt top, i do press some seams open. Piece your rows together, pressing seams in alternating directions. Perfect points in your patchwork look great, but are often difficult to achieve.
Nesting seams flat quilt tops and accurate piecing. To piece your backing, first cut your backing yardage in half. With the help of two short videos, carolyn gibbs shows you how to ensure perfect points by thinking about which way to press the seams particularly the diagonal ones. The interfacing does add a little bulk and stiffness, but if youre using the panel as a pillow cover or for a pouch, the stiffness can be nice. Person using an iron to pressing a seam open on a blueandwhite.
How to make a simple patchwork quilt the polka dot chair. Nesting seams match the patchwork seams in your work perfectly every time with this quilting tip so simple youll wonder why you didnt think of it yourself. One of the most pleasurable parts of piecing together a quilt is when you take your block to the iron to press it. This helps distribute the fabric bulk evenly in a small area, eliminating lumps and making the seam easier to quilt through. After pressing your blocks or units remember, theyre still hot from the iron, lay your rotary ruler on top of them. Helping quilters finish quilt tops, one quilt block at a time. Generally, press to avoid bulk if youll be quilting the finished patchwork on your home sewing machine.
Mar 20, 2014 if you lay the work down correctly on the ironing board, then the seam is laying flat ready to press toward the seam allowance. If you lay the work down correctly on the ironing board, then the seam is laying flat ready to press toward the seam allowance. Jan 06, 2017 but for the easiest and quickest patchwork quilt a beginner quilter could sew click here to see the quilt, nesting the seams is the best pressing option. Pressing seams to the side establishes a stronger quilt because its both the fabric and thread that are holding those seams together rather than just the thread. Ive heard this tip before, and every single time i try it, it refuses to work. Early on in any project i decide on the pressing directions of the seam allowances, preferably in my practice blocks. Take a moment to weigh in, do you use steam when pressing your patchwork. Jan 07, 2016 i tend to finger press as i go and then, like you, press with an iron once the block is done not always, but usually. Flat seams are crucial to patchwork quilting techniques that involve measuring and aligning blocks. Quilt block piecing trick for matching seams michele made me.
Let the unit cool a bit, and then flip the top fabric. Pressing quilt seams quilts, quilting for beginners. Patchwork is the skill of sewing together different fabrics to form a pattern. Apr 28, 2016 the term nesting seams simply means aligning the seams of each row so that they not only line up nicely but seem to almost fit together perfectly like a puzzle piece. Pressing seams to one side is a residue of hand piecing. Press method of using an iron to press seams and blocks. Quilting, especially hand quilting, is easier when seam allowances are not doubled up. I so want this method to work, and everyone who tries it swears by it.
Oh, and im a pinner, but then im a pinner whether im hand or machine piecing. Pressing, on the other hand, lets you turn seam allowances to one side without distorting your patchwork or applique shapes. A seam pieced by hand with a running stitch is not strong, and so it is pressed to one side, not to strengthen the seam, but to cover the holes which would invariably open along the seam and let out the batting. How to press quilt blocks and quilts for best accuracy. Nov 28, 2018 pressing seams starting with the darker fabric on top, open up the dark fabric piece and press along the seam line.
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