Swirling seam allowances to reduce bulk
 

This tutorial does a great job of explaining how to swirl the seams to reduce bulk. It can also be done very sucessfully with pinwheel blocks. I believe I first saw this on Alex Anderson with Billie Lauder.

http://cuttopieces.blogspot.com/2010...tch-block.html

Eleanor Burns uses this method as well.

Maybe I'm being overly cautious . . . but wouldn't that leave a weak spot, in the center, where the threads were snipped?

Only the threads in the seam allowance are loosened. The stitching from the seam crossing at that point keeps everything solid.

Glad to hear that. I haven't done any of her patterns for a while.

Great tutorial! Thanks!

This is one of the reasons I press my seams open. I'm too scatter-brained to remember which seam to press which way. But I have seen Eleanor Burns do this & it seems to make sense if you press to one side.

So far I've never done this to a seam, though I've wanted to - after seeing this tut I should be able to do it next time, thanks for the link!

I learned this method at a quilting weekend with Eleanor Burns.

Once you've done it a few times it becomes second nature.

I have always done it this way - and the finished tops are always smooth and way easier to quilt on a home sewing machine

I just caught Eleanor's Quilt in a day show the other night and she was doing her "Night and Day" quilt and showed how to do this. I thought it was pretty slick!

How does it work to press seams open where a bunch of seams meet, such as in a pinwheel?