Steam for me - and starch! Love starch :)

I also use steam but just press, don't iron. that simply means don't slide your iron over the block to much because you can stretch the fabric out of shape. press seams flat with or without steam.,your choice.

Me too .

Ditter

I agree! It's really easy to distort pieces and blocks if you aren't careful! I've also started to use Best Press and I really like the results.

I use steam to iron only whole pieces of fabric. Once it is cut into quilting pieces, I only use dry (hot) iron, to avoid any distortion caused by hot steam hitting any bias areas.

dry with starch

I use steam and if necessary, Mary Ellen's Best Press.

BellaBoo, thank-you for reminding me about the hard surface. I have read this before. (Maybe in one of your posts). I keep intending to create a hard ironing surface for seams but it slips my mind. I will put it in my notepad.

I am hesitant to press with steam if the fabric has not been pre-washed. The sizing could distort the pieces. Also, if there if a difference in quality (thread count) of the individual pieces. Dry iron is safer. I attended a class with Sally Collins last weekend and she presses with dry iron and then puts a heavy book on the piece until it cools. This really works in keeping the seams flat. I often steam press as the final press when the top is together, especially from the back to halep keep all the seams flatter. I believe many believe dry is safer. I will iron the fabric with steam before cutting. This should help with additional shrinkage of the fabric.

I use spray starch and steam. It works really well in Colorado's dry-ish climate.