Pressing Issues
 

Good Morning Everyone

I am doing something wrong when I press my fabric before I start to cut and when I press my cut fabric before sewing.

I'm finding that when I press, it makes the fabric "move" so to speak...example when I cut a strip to sew onto a triangle, the strip is bent and curved from pressing, no longer straight.

Do I need to use some starch or best press before I iron? Am I not getting enough steam so the iron is pushing the fabric?

I'm new to this, sorry if this is a silly question LOL

I don't press my cut fabric. I usually saturate fabric with starch, iron the devil out of it, then cut my pieces. I figure get all the skew out before cutting. I like my fabric to be flat and stiff. Never move a hot piece of cut fabric after pressing the seams. It should be cool.

Are you pressing, not ironing? Press by moving the iron up and down, not sliding it around on the fabric that can distort it. Also is your ironing surface hard and flat? If it is too soft you can stretch small pieces.

I iron/press with the grain lines - not "kitty-cornered/on the bias" -

There are number of videos that demonstrate how to press - here is one: https://video.search.yahoo.com/searc...b3&action=view

I usually press/iron the wrong side. If I have an accident it will show mostly on the wrong side of the fabric. When I prep my fabric, I usually iron it early or day or night before and loosely hang it on a rod. Got a piece of pvc about 1-1/2 inches x 24" and hang on back of closet door. Can also lay in open area to rest for fabric to rest after hitting it with the iron.

You may be ironing your fabric pieces like one irons a shirt. Pressing works better. You limit the moving of the iron on the fabric. I caught on watching F&P TV show on PBS and it has made a difference with the accuracy of my blocks.

I use a Steady Betty and it has really improved my pressing block pieces. I also use a clapper to remove the heat in seconds. My blocks are flat.

It made a huge difference when I started using Best Press when pressing my fabric before cutting. Always press along the length of grain, which has the least amount of stretch. You have to be careful not to push when pressing seams during block construction. It is so easy to distort fabric if you press with a heavy hand.

You know I think my problem is ironing instead of pressing.

I had ironed my fabric before cutting, and I had put my precut fabric in ziploc baggies for the next day, needless to say they had fold lines, and a couple ended up a little more wrinkled than fold lines so I pressed them before I stitched them which is where most of the distortion happened.

This is good info, and sorry for the newbie question, but yes I am ironing instead of pressing. Thank you all! :)

I wonder, too, if your fabric is not folded correctly BEFORE cutting. If you are a pre-washer (as am I), then you need to make sure your fabric is folded on-grain vs just in half, selvage to selvage. Start with your fabric folded selvage to selvage. You will likely see a 'bubble' in the fabric at that point. I lay mine flat on my pressing surface and then smooth from the fold line toward the selvage and outside edges. You'll likely lose some fabric when making that initial straightening cut but your fabric will behave better throughout your project if you go through this process. Just a suggestion.