Allways pressed seams open when I made clothes, so it seemed the natural thing to do when I started quilting.

If you're HAND quilting, it makes a difference in which way the seam is pressed. I pressed seams to one side on my first quilt but decided to press open on this one. There IS a big difference because the hand pieced seams aren't nearly as close together and strong as the machine pieced. I'll never press seams open again!

I'm glad to see replies from seams-open quilters b/c I was beginning to feel like a quilting oddity. My mom taught me to sew when I was little but I'm a self-taught quilter. On the 1st few, I pressed to the side because that's what all the books said to do. I soon switched to pressing open because I like the flat flat surface it makes for quilting and I don't like seeing all those little ridges in my design. Admittedly it is more time consuming. There are places where I press to the side, like borders and sashes.

Having said all that, I will say that if you do a lot of QItD, press them to the side or there won't be a "ditch" to sew in. It's hard to stay in line w/o that ridge of fabric to follow and I wouldn't want to sew directly ON the threads of the piecing seams. I typically ignore the construction lines altogether and FMQ all over the place.

The usual argument is that pressing to the side makes the seams stronger. I have repaired a number of old hand-pieced quilts. The ones that came apart at the seams were either sewn with longer, looser stitches, not quilted as much, or maybe just loved a whole lot more. It appears that stitch quality made the difference, same as with a machine sewn quilt. I've been using (and machine washing!) my quilts for several years now and I've not had any problems with the seams giving way --yet. Time will tell, I guess.

I press mine to the side to "nest" them. I rarely press them open. I press them open on the back of the seam of my quilt backing. But that is all.

What are "locking seams"?

If your going to stitch in the ditch for machine quilting it is better to press to the side. If your going to do a curved end dresden plate or fan I press the seam open because it is easier to applique it onto the background block. Otherwise I don't think it matters. Then it is just a personal choice.

I have made many many bargello quilts, runners and press every one of the seams open.

I also do both...and when I do my bindings I am finding its better to iron/press them open, less bulk. When I do strip quilts I always press open. those with less bulk I do to the side.

I do both ways depending on what I am doing. Some time I press to one side opposite on block that go together to prevent bulk.

I pressed the seams open in one quilt because I was worried about bulk...however, after washing the quilt a few times I noticed a lot of batting working it's way up through those pressed open seams. I notice much less stringy insides coming up through the seams I press to the side.