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.

Same here!!

I do both. I start by setting my stitching then press either to the side or open. Then I turn my piece over and press the top. I like my seams as flat as possible. I do use steam. I press seams open if I have a lot of seams coming together. I always press seams open on my binding and backing to prevent bulk.

My vote!
Sandy

The hardest ones to open completely are the HST blocks. Those little ends seem to want to not open well. So I first set the seam, then, with light on the bottom, open the top and push the tip and side of the iron into the seam just a short way. Then I back off and push the tip of the iron into the seam at each corner. That way I know those corners are really pressed open. And pressing then from the right side helps, too.
Check each of the corners to be sure they are pressed all the way open.

I dry press from the back, then turn over, dry press front and then, when I'm certain there's no fold in the seam, hit it with high pressure steam. My ironing board has a vacuume suction and the steam is pulled thru quickly and the steam used is dry steam.

I set the seam from the back. After that it depends on whether I want the seams to be open or to the side. All pressing is done with steam.

For open seams: after setting, I press them open from the back, flip and press the seam and the entire unit from the front. So the sequence is back, back, front.

For side pressed seams: after setting, I flip the unit face up seam to the left (I'm right handed) and run the edge of the iron along the ridge of the seam gradually moving it to the left and pressing the fold flat. I then flip it to the backside, press the seam again, flip it to the front and press the entire unit. The sequence is back, front, back, front.

Just to be sure, I press from both sides, the front and the back, it just works better for me.