Pressing from the front or back?
 

I've seen experienced quilters press from both the front or back of their projects as they go along. There are advantages and disadvantages to both:

From the back: Advantage: Your seams lie flat. Disadvantage: Sometimes your seams are not pressed totally open.

From the front: Advantage: Your seam is completely open: Disadvantage: You can stretch your material by opening the seam with the iron.

Which do you do - either one or the other? Both? Combine finger pressing with either technique?

Just curious!

I do both. You want your seams to be going in the right directions and then I do my final pressing from the front. I don't press my seams open unless absolutely necessary.

I'm totally anal about my seams being flat. Like MQ2, I press from the back then the front. I don't use water in my iron but have a spray bottle that I sometimes use for spritzing. I do press seams open occasionally when a lot of seams come together.

I set my seam on the back then open to front to press for each block piece. I seldom press the block when it's finished. If a block doesn't finished at the exact size I stop and figure out why and redo.

First I set my seam; it depends on the pattern and my quilting plans, whether I press open or to the side. If I'm pressing open, I do it from the back, opening the seam with my finger, then press again on the front with Best Press. If I'm pressing to the side, I do it from the front. If a pressed-to-the-side seam isn't lying flat, I'll press it on the back, too.

I set seams on the back; press my seams open from the back; then press the entire block/section from the front.

I do the exact same here!

That's what I do.

I have done both, but there have been times when I have done one or the other. It depends on if I feel that it needs it.

After setting the seam I drape the seam over a sleeve ham and press from the top. The weight of the fabric insure a crisp pressing.