Seams pressed open
 

I made my first quilt in 2010 (a queen size). Hand pieced and hand quilted. It was a scrappy quilt with 9 pieces in each 9" square. Since I used to make all my clothes, I stitched each square from edge to edge and I pressed my seams flat. When I quilted, I quilted 1/8 inch from seam around every piece. During the process, I learned that I was supposed to stitch from seam allowance to seam allowance and press my seams flat. I did this on my next 2 quilts neither of which has looked as nice or stitched as nice as the first one. I've just started a quilt for my DGD and I'm stitching pieces from edge to edge and pressing seams flat. I've washed my first quilt (which is on our bed) several times and have had no problems with the seams coming apart. So............

The way you did the first quilt was just fine. Go with what worked for you and looked good.

so...was there a question involved?
there are no hard-set rules when it comes to quilting- there are no quilt police- you can do it any way you want-in any manner that works for you-
sometimes it is recommended to press seams to one side so you can easily nest adjacent pieces & get good points/joins- but people manage to do it with their seams pressed open too- it is your project- your hobby- do it the way you like and enjoy the process---don't concern yourself with how (barb down the street) does it :)

I almost always press to the dark side; I only press the seams open when otherwise I'd have bunching of fabric

I like to press seams open because it makes for easier quilting.

I've done it both ways depending on what I'm doing. I was watching Fons & Porter recently and Marianne talked about how she always presses to the dark but that everyone has their own way of doing things - so not that I needed her permission, but, am going to do what works for me.

That's true. Plus it makes matching seams easier. And you never have to worry with those pressing diagrams or pressing direction problems.

I come from a garment sewing background as well. I tried going to the 'dark side' in quilting and quickly evolved to pressing all my seams open whenever possible. I, too, find it makes a much flatter and easier to (hand) quilt project. Go with what works for YOU.

I press open ! and have had many an encounter with the "quilt police" ... insisting it less than exceptable method.
It's up to each quilter to decide what gives them the results they intended.

I have read where it is acceptable to do either but I just don't have the patience to press open.

i press my seams open

I press my seams open when working with very small pieces, and to the darkest fabric for everything else. I have never felt the need to ask for permission to do what works for me, and neither should you :).

I have started pressing all my seams open. My sister-in-law said that is the way her grandmother always did it and she was a prolific quilter. I make my stitch length pretty short and treat ends of the pieces carefully when matching seams. I like the way the seams match much better. I do think you need to match the thread to the fabric a little closer.

That's the way I do it and I use glue to help me match and sew. Since I never have to worry about which way to press, I think it goes just as fast as sandwiching those seams. Besides, my needles and sewing machine like it better that way. And I can design as I go without undoing anything.

This is how I do it, too.

I think that whatever works for you, that's the "right" way to do it. (Until you find a better way, so don't stop experimenting!)

I believe the press the seam allowance to the side goes way back to when quilts were hand pieced. This gave stability to the seams. As batting and thread improves, and most seams are machine pieced, the option to press the seam allowance open is more appropriate.

I understand that pressing the seams open is done for machine piecing but I'm HAND piecing and it still seems to work better for me.

Thanks, NJ Quilters! I've already decided that pressing seams open for hand piecing and quilting is the way to go for me. No need to worry about Quilt Police because I'm not going to tell them where I live!

There are a couple of situations where pressing the seams open are an issue. If you're planning to stitch in the ditch - you will be stitching only over the threads that connect the top together, not very secure. If you use a batting that is not made from long fibers (less expensive) there is a tendency, over time, for those short fibers to work their way up & out, bearding, to make the quilt appear fuzzy. Otherwise - go for it!

I'm going to be quilting 1/8" from seam so I'll be quilting through the open pressed fabric on each side of seam. I think that should make the seams secure. What do you think? I'll also be using Quilters Dream Request for the batting.

I have done it both ways also, I say do what works for you!

I too like to press my seams open and yes, I will press to the side for nesting, but if I want it flat and lots of seams coming together, I will definitely press open. Do what you like.

I love reading quilting books and recently I have read in several new ones that the authors press the seams open. I tried it and honestly, pressing those little scant 1/4 seams open burnt my fingers. I did not like it. I think it works good, just too hard to do. There are no quilt police on this board. If you want to enter your quilts in a contest, then there might be, I don't know.

I press my seams to the side. Dark or which ever side will help the seams "lock" I do not understand why one would press the seams open. It is easier to press to the side. I find it very hard to press a 1/4" seam open with out burning my fingers.

I've done it both ways also, just as I do with clothing. I find 1/4" seams harder to press open than 5/8" seams, but sometimes it's the best way. Most of the clothes I make for my grandkids get serged seams, so of course they don't get pressed open either.

I just made a baby quilt pressing the seams open. I like the way it looks, but it is really time consuming. I will probably
do both in the future.

I agree with sewmary...do what worked the first time. I remember always doing my binding the way a lady in my group showed me and I was never really happy with it and one day someone saved me...she asked me why I did it that way? I told her that's the way so & so showed me. Well she showed me "her" way and that's how I do it to this day!! So do what works for you. There's always 20 different ways to do something in quilting!!

In so far as seam pressing, I agree with everyone; do whichever works best in the project at hand. What no one has mentioned and has me interested is your statement about not sewing from edge to edge but only sewing seam allowance to seam allowance. I have not heard about that, except in cases where one is making Y seams or mitering corners. In all other cases, I have always sewn edge to edge. Since I am a family-self-board taught quilter, is this something I have missed learning about as I went along? Can anyone enlighten me about this type of piecing in cases other than I have mentioned?

I press to one side. I have no patience for open pressing. I have not found it made a major issue with my hand quilting. When I match I try to have the seams go to opposite sides. I find this helps me match seams

whatever works for you is fine... and if you like how it looks ... no quilt police will come tell you to rip it out.. so do what you feel comfortable with...

I agree with this......good answer!

I was told in HAND PIECING to sew from seam allowance to seam allowance but in machine stitching to sew from edge to edge so that's what I did.