Originally Posted by
mimiknoxtaylor
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.
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.