I made clothing for myself and family members for many years, so I've always been taught to press the seams open. Unless I have a fabric where the seam is going to show up as a shadow on the face of the quilt, I press my seams open. With the improvements in batting products, I have not had any problems with "bearding". Of course, I am just an Official Rank Amateur, so I might be proved wrong. If the stitches are short enough, there shouldn't be a problem with bearding, even with SITD!