How to Plan your Seams?
 

I hope I can explain my question. How do you plan ahead your seams that will intersect so that they are laying in opposite directions so that you can nest them? Inevitably, mine will match up with a row where both rows are laying in same direction and making a big hump at intersection. I just don't know how to plan ahead. Hope I'm making sense. TIA

As a PS, you know the log cabin cross pattern some of you have seen? Well, I am just now making my 5th one, yes I said 5, to give to friends. I can now make them in my sleep. Beautiful wall hanging. I will try to post a picture.

Most times you can plan your seams by pressing one to one side the other to the other.

However, there are time when you sew a row and seams will be going in the same direction. In this case, I simply fold one seam over the other direction as I am sewing in order to make them nest. Remember that no one is going to rip your quilt apart in order to see which direction you've sewn your seams, so sew them and press them in whatever direction you want in order to get it as flat as possible.

Some seams may even go in both directions!

And if the intersection is really bulky, just open up those seams and sew it that way.

Another trick I use for bulky seams is to grab a little paint brush and paint on some spray starch just on the bulk and press it with a hot iron. That makes the bulk lay very flat.

:-)

I have decided about 10 quilts ago to iron all my seams open. I don't think their use will be affected. I don't expect them to be in use for a hundred years. There are some folks talking about this - one comes to mind is Leah Day. I've read other quilters blogs on this but can't remember.

I've been known to do the following:

1. Use a hammer to smash a too thick seam- put a board under it, or lay it on the concrete sidewalk. This is an old tailor’s trick and it works very well for places where multiple seams intersect.

2. Flip the seam in question while sewing. This will result in a place where it is “twisted” at some spot. That is easy enogh to manage- make sure the twist is away from a join, somewhere in the mddle between intersections works best, then use some spray starch and a hot iron to flatten the twist.

3. Clip the seam so it can be ironed in the direction you want. When doing this, Just make sure you don’t clip the stitches.

Another possibility: Some folks diagram their pressing plan when designing their quilts in order to avoid the problem- I’ve never done this as I tend to design on the fly.

Rob

I almost always start off a new quilt by making one 'practice' block (which is usually good enough to make it into the final quilt). The practice block is where I figure out things like the best order to sew the pieces together, which way to press the seams, and how to mass produce the block.

Pressing some seams open can help deal with the humps at the intersections. The only downside is that you can't stitch in the ditch then.

I'm going to try that hammer trick, though. Nothing better than problems that can be solved by whaling on something with a hammer.

I have started to press my seams open. Able to reduce bulk. Most of the quilts I make consist of lots of intersecting triangles etc. I also find it easier to match the seams.

I know some who make pressing plans when starting a quilt and I envy their patience and fortitude! This past year I decided to press my seams open and make my life easier. I do shorten my stitch length, and think they will be fine, I like how they lay on my longarm when quilting, so much easier! Can’t wait to see your finished projects.

my friend has a book (can not remember the title or author) that explains how to do this on lots of quilts. I almost always have a few seams with a "twist"--as much from carelessness as not knowing which direction they should be going--starch or steam will lay them down pretty flat. Pressing open means SID is out--but sometimes I do that if I have lots of seams meeting (like with a star, etc). And I have a rubber mallet that I use with a board (and some spray starch) to flatten those that would end up as knots when quilted--works fine.

If I know I'm going to flip blocks around after they're finished to play with the design, I typically just finger press seams. Like on a drunkards path quilt. Then when design complete, I press the seams for nesting. If I can't do that, then I've been known to repress blocks or just press seams open, too. I don't like the bulk but, obviously, this can't be avoided sometimes. Eleonor Burns teaches a neat twist technique but I've never been able to do this. She does it on pinwheels but I just press pinwheel blocks open now.

On the simple quilts I make for donation, I pin the seam allowances in the direction they need to go. If other seams don't nest, I lay them opposite, pin and sew on. I really haven't made any fancy quilts.