I agree. Just bought a new Rowenta (they seem to last me 10 years) Master. I steam and starch those seams flat as a pancake. LOVE IT !!!

Vintage dry iron + non-aerosol Niagara spray starch = smooth + awesome piecing :)

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I use a steam iron most of the time and I use distilled water in it so there are no minerals in it. When in double I use a pressing cloth over my fabrics. Dry irons are nice for pressing seams open or to one side. However when pressing my blocks or pieces I use steam.

Gotta love it when spam revives old threads. 😜

In regular clothes ironing, I've preferred a steam iron. But with quilting, I definitely prefer a dry iron. My quilting Iron is a Wasing a https://www.amazon.com/WASING-Househ...en%2C75&sr=1-2 I think dry is better to not distort the fabric.

ETA: I actually keep a spare one. I like it so well, I wanted to keep an extra in case when I needed a new one, I wouldn't be able to find the same iron. I'm weird like that on some things! :0)

Seems most irons out there are steam type but I rarely use water in mine as eventually they start to leak so I keep a mister bottle filled with vinegar and water, mist my fabric or whatever it is I'm pressing, let it set for about 15 seconds and then press. My irons last much longer this way.......at least for me.

I got tired of steaming my fingers when dealing with really small pieces. So I no longer add water. I have spritz bottle if I need it, but for the most part I don't miss it. Now, when I was sewing clothing, I almost always needed steam.

I also use a dry iron with a mister bottle from Quilt in a Day, although many other companies sell them also. They spray such a fine mist that the fabric doesn't get water logged.

Oh, steam is a good thing when you want to shape fabric into say, a garment sleeve cap or a art project you wan to form into something. But, if you use steam and are working with bias cut quilt block pieces, you are risking the piece to stretch out of shape. I think you get the idea
The other thing to mention here is pressing seams open is an up and down motion, No Scrubbing on the fabric. Fabric is easily misshapen with steam.