Originally Posted by
Jan in VA
I think we mostly began pressing the seams to the side in the days when we started frequently using polyester batting, because these often "bearded" through the seams when we quilted.
Bearding is when tiny little tufts of the batting comes to the surface of the quilt top and can be seen like little lint clusters on the surface of the quilt. Because the tufts are usually still attached to the batting in the middle of the quilt, it's hard to just pull or brush them off; they usually are best removed by cutting them at their base.
Jan in VA
I think if you have the opportunity to look at rather backside of old or antique pieces, either hand or machine pieced, you will see that the seams are pressed to one side. This was done before poly batts....the reason being that if seam is pressed open it is exposing the joining thread and that thread could be pierced in the quilting process, be it hand or machine quilting,and thus weakening or even destroying that seam by breaking that thread. This has been my understanding of the WHY....