Did I get your attention?

I recently took a class with Kaye England and it was kind of a real eye opener. She made us all try creating a block her way just to see how it turned out. Here were her rules:

Iron your fabric first
Then you don't touch the iron again until the block is done. In the real world application it was until the quilt top was done.

While piecing it together you would sew the dark toward the dar without pressing. Her philosophy was, if you measure it right, cut it right, and sew an exact 1/4 right. Then the block will turn out right.

Well I will say this...I'm an ironer....I like to press it all so it like cardboard going through the machine. But when I did it her way I was astonished at how well the blocked turned out. Points were lined up GREAT and another thing....NO PINS!

I wondered if anyone else quilts like this all the time? After such a successful first try, I think I will continue this way, it actually saves a lot of time running back and forth to the iron.

So I would say if you think you might like to do it, TRY a block. I was kinda amazed, did I mention that I'm kinda in love with Kaye England now? :-D

Very interesting. I was always told to press after every line I sewed. This would be so much faster and easier. I must try.

Going to the ironing board is my only form of exercise ;-)

I kind of go back and forth on this depending on what kind of block I am making. I hate to iron and press.

What kind of block did you try this on? I'm wondering if it would work on a pieced log cabin.

i tend to like to iron as i go too. it seems difficult to me to iron a whole quilt top, even just doing the seams of rows is not fun. but i see her point.

I tend not to press until the block is done. I'm just not the 'press every line' kind of person.

I know, me too. So we did this making a block from her "Star of Hope" quilt.

Here is the pattern, it was one of the blocks.
http://www.pineneedles.net/store/pc/...6&IdCategory=0

This is an interesting concept, thank you for sharing it with us :D:D:D

I just finger press until I am all done. It really makes a difference in the quality of your piecing.

ya ironing at each step is my exercise and when it is done I only have a few seams to iron.used to do it the other way and to hard to press a queen sized top and not distort it

I have taken classes from many quilt instructors. Half say to press after stitching, half say only finger press. Half say use pins to match seams, half say do not use pins. I know me and what I'm capable of messing up so I do what works for me. I like to use a lot of starch on my fabric before cutting and then use steam after sewing.

I rarely use the iron for quilting. Over 25 years and I've never had a problem.

Yeah Kaye had a great way to describe finger pressing she said, "Here's the best iron you can get when piecing." and wiggled her thumb.

Then she said, "Need steam?" and licked her thumb....cracked me up.

I used to iron just when the block was done and they were ready to put together to make the full quilt top. Then I started ironing more often. Now iron less again.

But I actually rarely pin anything! Unless the seam line-up tends to give me a LOT of trouble being even. I figure if I've cut it right and hold my fingers on the seams to be sewn and hold my head at the right angle.... lol

I learned finger pressing earlier this year and really liked it. This would just be an extension of that and I could probably handle doing it. My only concern would be those seams that accidently get sewn the wrong way....but then again, that happens when sewing after each seam :)

Amen (rofl).

:lol: :lol: :lol: Good One! :lol: :lol: :lol:

I'm an ironer and a pinner and unfortunately it does take a lot of time. If I don't pin or baste those points they don't meet and then my best friend is the ripper :)

I would love to take a class from Kaye!! She sounds great!!

When I started quilting I didnt even own an iron or pins. so never ironed it or pinned I still dont pin. When I do hst now I will iron only cause I starch befroe I cut.

Well Son of Da Beach, I starch too! If I'm going to rotary cut I spray starch the fabric first...works for me! :mrgreen:

I never use pins - may have to try less ironing. You also have the difference between "Pressing" and Ironing, but that's a whole 'nother topic..

Did she finger press the seams?

If so, did she press them to one side or open?

How would I get my exercise if I didn't keep getting up from the sewing machine and walking to the iron, then back to the machine? My sewing studio is the basement and that's how I keep my body from locking up into one stiff position. I don't know if I could adapt to that technique since I am so used to using the "braille" method to make sure my seams sandwich nicely. It sure would be a time saver.

Sorry to disagree with Kaye but I've tried both ways and much prefer
pressing after every seam. I save a lot of time if I chain piece then press.

I'm wondering the same thing. Did she finger press, and did she measure for accuracy as she sewed pieces of the block together? I usually measure after I sew a seam. That might be difficult to do, if the seam isn't flat.

I think if I've done the test strip thing before proceeding, I would be okay with just finger pressing parts of the block.

I went to a class of hers last year about this time. Isn't she just a hoot?! I learned so much from her though.....

Me too! Kaye England is an old Mary Ellen Hopkins tutee; MEH rarely irons either.

I don't think I could let go of the routine of sew, iron, sew iron it would just throw me off!! but I do sew without pins that I can do!

Well, I can't say that I press after every seam, but I've never compared pressing versus not, I will try it and compare the two. Thanks!

I was born with an iron on my hands, but can understand how it distorts the fabrics.

I have tired it before and it drove me nuts but I am a big time ironer. I might give it a try again. The only place it seems to work for me is with a log cabin but even them I prefer to iron.

i Love Kaye! yup, i actually do both, it just depends on what i'm working on but i love working on blocks that i do not have to press until they are finished. I have not done a whole quilt without pressing along the way; but i made all the blocks without pressing during construction, then i pressed them all, then i did construct the quilt without pressing again until i was done. it saves tons of time...and i love doing it this way when hand piecing too. :thumbup: and Kaye is so... inspiring!

Yes, and sticking out my tongue helps too.

I've done log cabins and not pressed until the block is finished. I think it depends on the block.

i very seldom press i see no reason when you pay att to the way your seams run

I recently started starching my fabrics before cutting. Now I find that I can finger press most seams to my satisfaction and iron when the block is done.
I don't use pins very often, only if I'm joining two rows together and pin at each block intersection. That way if I need to ease some fab one way or the other, I have the whole width of the block to do it. Sometimes I find pins distort the block and send my points off.

I was taught this on a Log Cabin block , & it really works well. The lady that taught me said the Log Cabin block loses it's shape when pressing after every seam.
Greeter Eva

I do not iron until a block is completely sewn and usually not until the entire quilt top is constructed. I have very few problems getting everything to meet where it needs to, BUT if I do need to make adjustments, it is so much more difficult to make the corrections if the seams have already been pressed. I am also not fond of spending the time it takes to press as I go nor do I like to keep my iron hot for hours at a time while I'm sewing.