Open pressed seams
 

I love tumbler quilts..I do a pretty good job matching the seams but sometimes a few get off a bit and I find its normally caused by the think seams when sewing the rows together. I decided to try ironning my seams open...WOW what a difference....My seams look great and not lumps. Not only do the seams line up prefectly...it also will be alot easier to FMQ less bulk. So why do we iron the seams to the side instead of open seams??? I also sew my strips twice...once each way. I find its a great way to see if I sewed a piece a bit off....and its prevents waves.

I've begun opening my seams also. We had a speaker @ guild not long ago who is a "professional" LAQ and she quilts 30-40 quilts per month. One of her requirements is that the seams have to be open, says too many broken needles when they're not.
if seams are hand sewn they do need to be pressed to either side for strength. But machine sewn, it's more personal preference.

Most of the time I do press my seams to one side..but I have also had times when it will work better to press seams open and it works well...and yes, it does reduce the bulk and help with FMQ. I think the pressing to one side is helpful when you want to "butt" seams together.

Do wonder why you sew your strips twice? Doesn't that add more bulk to the seam? Wouldn't that be harder to press open?

We had a longarmer come to our guild and she said to always press the seams open. I like to hand quilt so I had been pressing them open for a long time but thought I was wrong--guess not.

I've been quilting for about fifteen years now and up until about a month ago, I almost always pressed my seams to one side. Then out of the blue, I just decided to start pressing them open - wow! I have noticed such a difference in my precision. It's not that it was bad before, but it's definitely better with pressed open seams! :) Also, I find FMQ to be much easier with open seams.

I don't personally see the need to double stitch strips, but you do what works for you Carol. :):)

Confession: I've tried several times to press my seams open, and it always ends in burnt fingers and frustration. What am I doing wrong? I've watched people do it online before but my seams just don't ever seem to want to open.

This surprised me. I am also a LAQ and if you need to SID, the seams are better pressed to one side. If you press them open, then the SID is just sewing across thread & not fabric on the top. If you are doing an overall, it probably doesn't matter. I actually have never had a problem with needles breaking.

Hi Julie - I know exactly what you are talking about. You have to finger press the seam open first, then you can lay the iron right on top of it.

I have begun to press seams open when doing pinwheel (or variation) what a difference. My next quilt project I will try to press all seams open and see how it goes. I will finger press open, I am tired of hot fingers (warm heart).

I have been sewing seams open for over 4 decades of quilting. I never did jump on the "press to the dark" bandwagon. I still get "looks" and comments, from some quilters .. that I am not a "real" true quilter. Their first reaction is how did you get it to look so flat? .. then when I flip it over and they see the open seams .. its like a brought a plague into the room. I am glad to see more are seeing the benefits of pressing open. Maybe someday I won't get the "look"!

Thank you for this thread! I'm new to quilting, but not entirely new to sewing...just rusty LOL. I was familiar with pressing seams open from apparel/craft patterns, and wondered the 'why' of it all with quilting. This is good information (as is everything I read here because even with a show & tell type thread, there are tips & notations that make for great information gathering!)
Thanks again!

I am under the impression that pressing to the side makes a sturdier quilt. Does anyone have experience pressing seams open for a child's quilt that gets dragged around and washed a lot? Just curious.

I have done it both ways and there is certainly alot less bulk if pressed open.

Whenever I want to press my seams open I actually use a sleeve ham I have had for years. You can get one cheap at JoAnns. I just lay the seam side up and the fabric pulls the material down so the pressing is really easy and I don't have any problems.

When you have hand problems you either learn ways around what you want to do or get really frustrated ... and, gasp, maybe give up.

Pressing to one side and accurately locking the seams does not create any more thickness than open seams so should be no difference in quilting.iprefer to one side for strength but sometimes get it wrong.

Which way to press seams is, to my way of thinking, an entirely personal decision and ranks up there with the other personal quilting decisions of pre-wash or not, stash or not, scrappy or not, pre-cuts or not, hand stitch or not, and so on. Do whatever works for you with my blessing, but I'm sticking with what works for me...and pressing seams open isn't it. :)

Oh! I will definitely try this, thanks! I always try to finger press them apart before I press, but it doesn't always make things better.

I do press mine open when I have a lot of pieces coming together. For me (and yes it may only be me) I have an easier time matching when I press to one side. I have never had issue of breaking a needle when quilting with seams pressed to the side.

I also lower my stitch length to at least 2, most of the new machines come up at 2.5 (not sure how many stitches to the inch that is). I think the other thing is that SID was not meant to be in the seam line but a little to the left or to the right of it. Most older quilts I have noticed have the quilting stitches either just to one side of the seam or a 1/4 to the side of the seam.

I forgot to mention that I saw a tool at a QS and went home and made it, works great. Took half-round (flat on one side and rounded on the other) similar to quarter round so it is small. Made it the length I wanted (18 in) and then created a sleeve (fabric - batting- fabric) seamed down the side and across the bottom and slid the wood piece into it.

I also press open. That's from clothes sewing days!

To prevent burnt fingers I use a wooden iron which is half of a wooden clip clothespin. Open it up and run it down the seam. Voila! Pressed open. I do use iron for long seams.

As to whether a quilt will last: Clothes that I made for children 20-30 years ago are still hanging around with no popped seams. And those kind of seams undergo a lot of stress. A quilt that has extra protection (the quilting part!) would certainly last at least as long!

Either finger press first or get a pressing tool to help hold the seams open while pressing. I first press all my seams as sewn. Then finger press open the seam. Then flip the sewn pieces over and press again on the right side of the pieces.

I love this idea!!! I have some clothespins and that is what I am going to do...Thank-you!

I'm a LAQ also and if you press seams open there is no ditch so you can't do SID at all.

As a piecer, I would think pressing seams to the side would make a stronger seam. While machine stitching is stronger than hand stitching, you would still have strain on the seams(especially with a bed quilt) where thread breakage could happen over time IMHO.

If you press your seams open wouldn't it be easier if you made wider seams? Of course, you would lose inches overall in your project.

Some thing I press open, other to one side, each project is different. The pressing rule we have follwed for so many years is more flexible that we thought.

Take two quarter round pieces of wood and use wood glue to hold them together. Place the pieces together so you get the flatest surface possible on top. Use clamps to hold the pieces together until they dry then sand smooth. Lay seam centered over the wood piece and use DRY iron. They sell a padded version of this but it's pricey and padding is unnecessary.

I think the theory behind ironing seam to one side is/was adding strength to that seam.....as mentioned above, SID should be done just to the edge of that seam-on the double seam allowance side, not right in the ditch-that could break that joining thread.....if done right, seams all going to the side in a multi pieced block, there should not be Bulk.....I always pinwheel my seam meetings on the back....even on pinwheel/kalideoscope block, if all going in same direction, the center will fan out smoothly....
If a LA will not accept a top unless the seams are opened, she would not be my choice.......and needle breaking is not caused my seams, her needle is either too thin or she is going to quickly and causing the needle to snap. Just from personal experience

I think ironing to one side rather than open makes (not sure how to describe it) a "tighter" seam. If a seam is ironed open and stretched tight, there can almost be a gap between the two pieces of fabric, but if the seam is pressed to one side, it is "sealed" up. Also, there is the stitch-in-the-ditch issue. There is no "ditch" when you press a seam open. I also like the accuracy gained by butting seams (pressed in opposite directions) against each other which you do not have if you press a seam open. I have pressed select seams open on a few quilts I've made, but it is vary rare. But as they say, there are no quilt police. Whatever works for you.

For generations, the rear seam on mens pants were pressed open without too many problems. When I was taught to quilt, seams were always pressed open. I have had fabric wear through but never had a problem with the seams.

I started out making clothes and other items where the seams were pressed open. Then my first quilt instructor said "press to the dark", which I generally do, however, when you are piecing a block with many pieces, it's better to press your seams open to reduce bulk. You can finger press or use the wooden iron - a favorite of Eleanor Burns, and then if you need to use the iron go ahead, but I've found that the wooden iron works pretty well. The "rules" do constantly change, but use what works best for you and you'll have good results.

I start the seam by finger pressing it first or using something I have laying around to press it open and then just press the rest of the seam starting at that end.

I have a sleeve ham sitting in the drawer for years, never used it. I will try it when I press the seams open. what a great idea. Re utilization of tools!

At the last AQS show in Grand Rapids a vendor was selling two size strips that actually looks like quarter round (you use for trim on walls, doors, floors etc) covered with very low loft batting and muslin. This lifts the seam just enough that the iron does not disturb the other sides and makes the finger pressing really easy before using the iron. This is now my new favorite tool!!!!!
Also, using open seams eliminates the 'scant quarter inch issue'.

Appropriate topic since I recently started pressing seams open. It takes a little longer for me but worth the effort, especially when I am doing triangles.

I just signed up for the new craftsy class by Anita Grossman Soloman and she presses all her seams open. It makes a lot of sense to me because when I am making a large quilt, I always seem to lose track of which way the seams go and end up with two seams going the same way no matter how careful I think I am being. I will always press mine open from now on

I think the press to the side originated when all seams were sewn by hand. It definitely made the seams stronger. Now that almost everything is machine sewn, I don't think it makes that much difference.

I am a longarmer and all my customers press to one side. It makes no difference. The seams in the finished quilt are stronger pressed to one side. when pressed open, all that is between the two pieces of fabric is a line of stitching. Make sense?

I have found that it depends on the patttern. I was always taught to iron seams open. It threw me for a loop when I started quilting that you are sometimes told to press them to the side.

I have pressed some open and some to the side. The only time I would not press open is if the planned quilting is SID.

That just doesn't work for me. I can't find any way to easily press open. it takes forever.