I'm working on 2 lap-sized D9P's, and using Izy's easy intersections tutorial ( http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-28328-1.htm ), which is SO helpful BTW!!! If you haven't looked or you haven't tried this method, it makes life so easy...

Anyway, It's much easier for me to iron the seams to one side or the other instead of ironing them open (I don't have a nifty quilting iron yet), and I'm wondering what other people do.

Is there a 'proper' way to iron them? It seems like with the scant 1/4" seam it's hard to iron them open nicely, but maybe that's just me.

Thanks!

I press seams to the side, usually toward the darker fabric, but not always.

If I have a lot of seams intersecting at one point, I press them open. Otherwise I always press them to one side. But there are as many answers to this as there are fish in the sea. ;)

If you are from the garment industry, we used to iron our seams flat, spread open, but for quilting, I have been trained... and this has been a question answered before, you press to the dark side of the seam. to not show the dark through lighter fabric.
They have the neatest ironing tools. Check out your local stores. little flat irons are sold now, look like what I used to patch linen drawings in the 1970's. Draftsman then. really nice, will not stretch fabric from over pressing.

So, my experience with lots of classes and last time round with this.. keep seam fabric together and pressed to darker fabric side.

good luck !
Ell

I prefer seams open - except on the borders - I usually press towards the outside of the quilt - don't know why - just do :)

Sometimes open and sometimes to the side. I agree pressing them open is sometimes a pain, literally. But I still try to do it expecially at intersections. No right or wrong here.

I always used to press to one side, but since I read this I don't worry if I want to press open - depends what I'm making. But intersections do nest better with pressing to one side alternately.
This is interesting reading
http://www.straw.com/equilters/libra...SeamsOpen.html

deedles215:

Press to the side....but in some situtations press open... such as the middle of a pinwheel or lemoyne star when you have many fabrics coming together at one intersection... Generally try to press to the darker side... however.. you can go the opposite way if you need to leave an intersecting point visible so that you cross sew through the point...you'll get the hang of it.

Okay, thank you for all the responses! I figured it was okay to iron to the side, but I wanted to be sure I wasn't committing quilting crime 101.

I've been pressing to the side and it hasn't given me any problems, just wanted to know if I should start ironing open because that would be the 'proper' way to do so.

Thank you!

Actually, it's quilting crime 207. LOL