What is the best way to take care of seams while quilting? Do you press or iron? Steam? Starch? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
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What is the best way to take care of seams while quilting? Do you press or iron? Steam? Starch? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
It may depend somewhat on whether you prewash your fabrics or not. I do not prewash as a general rule, so the fabrics I work with already have some body and stability. If you prewash your fabric, you may want to starch yardage before cutting to restore some of the stability.
I used to use steam, but got tired of filling the iron with water and cleaning the iron to get rid of the minerals left behind by water. I don't want to use a bottle to spray water on the fabric because I try to avoid repetitive motion with my hands. So, I started pressing seams without steam and lo-and-behold it works just fine for me!
If I have to press long seams or a lot of seams, I really like using this tool:
http://www.thestripstick.com/
It's pricey for what you get, but I knew I'd never get around to making my own so I just bit the bullet and purchased it. It helps speed up seam pressing and makes it more accurate for me. It would be easy to make your own if you can find half-round molding at your hardware store (sounds easy, but most of them stock quarter-round rather than half-round). Mine is covered with muslin that is serged onto the stick.
I love Best Press and I use steam. I press straight down and try not to wiggle as that stretches my blocks.
Jennifer: Organized in my dreams.
🌷RIP dear Tigger....you are missed! 🌷
I started out using steam, but I consistently got ripples in and splutters on my fabric, so I went to no steam. I started using Best Press about a year ago, and really love it. It stabilizes the fabric when I spray before cutting, and helps crisp up the blocks when spraying during block construction. I iron carefully along the length of grain before cutting, and I press seams during block construction.
I starch and press my fabrics before I sew and then press the seams as I make blocks.
I start by cutting the amount of fabric I need off the yardage and only starch and press that amount. It makes cutting and piecing easier.
Pressing large yardages is very difficult so I cut it into more manageable pieces.
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I iron and spray starch before cutting. While piecing I rarely add more spray starch, just press with lots of steam.
I pre-wet my fabrics in hot water and then dry in the dryer. The only time I tried to starch before cutting, I messed up both my iron and my ironing board cover. I have decided that I prefer to work with 'raw' fabric. If it is going to mess up then do it before I have put in the time, money and effort into a quilt top.
Pressing seams. Having started out as a sewer of clothing, I had a lot to relearn. Pressing means to set the iron down and not move it and then lift it up and repeat. Steam is an option and can be used in many ways. So can a trusty spray bottle. (Ever had a block that seemed to stretch or skew?? Dampen it, lay it on the ironing board, choose the best side, pin it down, and then measure off that, stretching or easing as necessary and pinning a lot. Then just let it dry. You will be surprised with the result.
Never argue with an idiot. They'll drag you down the their level and beat you with experience.
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