Pressing seams
 

I got an email today from Martingale and it had an informative article about the age old question of how to properly press seams during quilting. Just though I would pass it on. http://blog.shopmartingale.com/quilt...m_medium=email

Thanks so much...what a question and how many times have we asked it?

I would add: use a sleeve ham when pressing the seam,to set seam, then open or to the side, to prevent any unwanted puckering of pleating of the material. The weight of the material keeps it from getting ironed incorrectly.

Thanks for sharing the article. I had to change re-set and change the direction I pressed my seams many times when making the March BOTM to avoid bulk and get the seams to match up.

She mentions something I hadn't thought of, and I use a lot of steam:
Some quilters love using steam; others would never dream of using it. If your iron has a steam button, you can use a shot of intentionally placed steam to coax a stubborn seam into submission, but let the pieces cool on the ironing board. If you pick them up and move them while damp, you might stretch them out of shape.

Do any of you intentionally iron in a certain direction to try and get your seams to line up? Sometimes I am just off a smidgen but I can iron the other direction and get it to line up better. I'm wondering if that would hold up after washing (just thought of that, oops).

I usually pin and re-sew as necessary, then Press.

I thought that was an excellent article too! I've been using snips of different articles in my quilt guild's newsletter. This is a definite one I'll use!

A really good site and I totally agree, with my Patchwork class I always say to them "I DON'T IRON!" all my clothes are wash and hang up to dry but one will always ask "why have you got an iron next to your quilting table" and I reply " in quilting you don't' Iron, you PRESS!

The other thing I can't do without is the Clover finger presser http://www.joann.com/clover-finger-presser/prd2779/ especially when doing HSTs.

BTW I never ever use the steam option on my iron, does a lot of harm in distorting fabric but I have a water spray to hand for stubborn creases.