Pressing ?
 

My blocks rarely come out to what the pattern says. They are not always square and maybe an 1/8" off at least. Do others have this problem? I wish sometimes I could look at the quilts designers put on their patterns and see if this is the case for them even though the pattern says a block should be a certain size. I think one of my big problems is pressing. I am losing measurement because my blocks aren't pressed crisp and flat. Any tips for getting a better press?
Thank you

I also find this happening to me a while ago. I am much more careful with pressing and when I cut my strips, I don't try to center the black line on my Omnigrid ruler but have the outside edge of the yellow line to just give a tiny bit more fabric. You just can move your iron around when it is down like you do when ironing clothes. it is a hard habit to break. Hope you find some way to improve your accuracy.

I spray water on a seam when I press. It presses the seam flatter than when just using heat.

Thank you for the tips and reassurance that I am not alone. Maniac Quilter I have never been sure what part of the line I place the ruler, so getting a little bit more fabric will be helpful. Gramajo I don't use steam as I think steam distorts even more, but just spraying the seams I bet will work. Tartan good to know others also have the problem. I love the phrase I heard not to long ago,"Done is better than perfect."
Does using starch help?

Since I watched this video I've been pressing most of my seams like this.
It helps to avoid those tiny pleats which makes the block smaller. Try it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CynQMi2IQ18

I like to finger press or "roller" press as I go when making a pattern. When the block is done, I press up and down gently. If I am making a scrap/crumb quilt made of many different fabrics, I make it oversized, then I shrink them in a bowl of starched water, lay flat to dry, then press/iron and trim to size

Thank you for the video. I will give it a try.

thanks for the video. Very helpful

I have never seen this before. I'll be trying it soon. Thanks!

Leslie

Hi Joan, I find that starching helps. I prefer to starch my fabric before I cut and piece. I also like to let the starch dry and then when I piece my block, the fabric is nice and crisp. To press I then use a little steam, this reactivates the starch and allows me to press the block nice and flat without distorting it. It's important to press straight down. If I need to nudge a seam over, then I just use the tip of my iron to do so and moving the tip in the direction of the grain of the fabric.

If you get a chance, sign up for the Craftsy.com 2013 block of the month taught by Laura Nownes,--it's one of their free classes. You don't have to make the quilt, if you're not into that, but Laura does a great job demonstrating pressing techniques and it is worth it to follow through the lessons, just to learn her technique for pressing half square triangles.

Rob<object type="cosymantecnisbfw" cotype="cs" id="SILOBFWOBJECTID" style="width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block;"></object>

My goodness, that's me too! I did 2 rows of a quilt, and one row was over 2 inches bigger than the 1st row. At first I thought I had the sashings different sizes on the 2nd row. But no - it was that one block was 1/2 inch bigger, one was 1/4 inch bigger, etc. And I thought I was being careful! Anyway, my problem was that I hadn't cut some pieces on the straight of grain and they stretched from me handling them. So I think cuttting on the straight of grain as well as starching would help. I was so tempted to put it all aside, but they're blocks we're all working on for one of my quilt clubs. I'm glad I fixed it.

rryder thanks for the tips. I signed up for the class but never got around to watching it. Glad to know there are others who struggle with this. Hopefully some of the tips given will be helpful.

Yes starching fabrics before cutting to sew together makes a big difference...

great video... i'm guilty of some of her no no's

I've taken two workshops with Debbie Maddy. She is a great instructor, easy to listen to and super nice. She knows her stuff and has funny stories about traveling. Don't hesitate to take one of her classes.

What helps me to keep my blocks all the same size: I starch my fabric stiff as paper before cutting. I use a seam guide that is exactly 1/4" seam. I sew very slow. I use thin thread for piecing. It takes time and patience to be accurate.

I will sometimes have a devil of a time with a quilt and have come to realize that besides very accurate cutting keeping the ruler line like Maniac says above (or using my Accuquilt!), and making sure that I either use very fine thread or a scant 1/4" seam, that I MUST square up the parts of a block as I put the block together. This allows me to catch the problems as I'm putting the blocks together and either re-do or trim (if too big). When I'm lazy about this I always stuggle with block sizes being wacky. Also a beginning teacher pointed out that using steam (which I do a lot and am trying to break the habit) will cause the fabric to stretch if you are not pressing but ironing so there's distortion, or can also shrink fabric due to the moisture and heat--which makes sense since using it on a quilt with cupping problems before quilting helps tame the cupping by shrinking it. Has anyone else heard this?

If you are only 1/8 inch off on a block - that difference can be easily compensated for while sewing the blocks together or when adding sashing.

Depending on the block, I only finger-press during construction and do a final press with an iron when the block is done. I recently bought a 1/4" foot for my machine and replaced the 1/4" foot with the guide. What a difference. Now my blocks actually resemble the block size they are supposed to be. Since I participate in block swaps, it is important that my blocks meet the requirements.

I starch fabric stiff sometimes, it depends on the block pattern. Rail fence I just use the 1/4" foot on my machine and a thin thread and press seams with starch mist.
Stiff starch like cardboard, starch mist is a quick press over.

I think most of us struggle with these issues. I'm guilty of lots of no-no's in my quilting. I do use starch - sta-flo at a 50/50 mixture. Let it settle into the fabric before ironing/pressing. I do this to my yardage before cutting. I TRY to always use the same spot on my ruler but rarely do. A tip that I keep forgetting to use - put a small piece of painters tape or post-it on the spot on your ruler that you want to use for repetitive cuts. Will improve cutting accuracy. Most patterns seem to be designed for the elusive 'scant' 1/4 seam allowance. My machine has a setting for that so that part is easy. Otherwise - again with the painters tape or post-it notes.

I press every seam as I piece. I use steam. I press my seams open unless the construction process does not allow for this. I square up each unit as I piece as well. Sometimes I'm a little over; sometimes I'm a little under. I usually go with 'close counts' if it's not too far off. Fabric stretches and it can also be eased to fit together.

Certainly try to improve your accuracy. But unless it's really far off, don't make yourself crazy.

My blocks never came out true to size....And then I was told to try this test.....Make two the same block......Press as you piece on one and finger press the second one and don't press until done with the block. All my blocks now come out perfect without ever having to trim.....Realize that pressing stretches the fabric.

I complimented a little lady on her blocks and she told me she never presses. She wet blocks every one. Sounds like lots of work but if you have a pattern with lots of block seams might be worth it.

One of the things that I find helpful is to starch my fabric before cutting it. I find that it give me a clean, crisp line. The fabric is flat, and with the starch, the sewing line seems crisper, too. When I started doing this, I noticed that my blocks came out closer to the size they were supposed to be (at least a lot better than my attempts before starching). It seems that all my blocks are a little bit off, no matter how careful I am.

One of my bad habits is that when I get to the end of the seam, for some reason I don't keep a true 1/4" seam to the end. I don't know why this happens, but I try to pay close attention to this now that I realize that I do it.

I also use Arifil thread because it is not as thick as some threads and you tend to lose a teensy bit of fabric in the seams when it is ironed over a thicker thread.

In addition to this, I just saw a video (I think in was Nancy's Sewing) where they put a block of wood on the seam after they ironed it to weight down the seam while the fabric was cooling for a few minutes. The block of wood was maybe a 2"x4" cut about 10" long. Nancy said that it would help the seam lay flat.

[QUOTE= or can also shrink fabric due to the moisture and heat--which makes sense since using it on a quilt with cupping problems before quilting helps tame the cupping by shrinking it. Has anyone else heard this?[/QUOTE]

I have never heard of "cupping" problems. What is this?

It makes sense about shrinking the material when steam ironing, as that is what you do when wash and dry it in the dryer. But, now that you mention this, it is certainly an "AH Ha" moment for me.

This is called a Clapper. It is a must have tool in the designer clothing and tailor shops.
Cupping is when you have a block that looks convex when it should be flat.
When I was in block exchanges, or putting together blocks from other quilters for a raffle or gift quilt this ruler was a must when the blocks were off from the original size. http://www.nancysnotions.com/product...marker+tool.do

Thank you for this link. I, too, have problems keeping blocks square and pressing has always been a problem for me. I end up "ironing" instead of pressing. I have never seen this technique before and am going to try it.

I just watched the video and it is great. I never thought about pressing the corners first but it does make sense. I will try to remember 😄😄 this when I get back hime from vacation.

Thanks
Sandy in Mooresville, NC - visiting in York, PA right now.

My cousin got a Steady Betty ironing board cover. She cut it in half and gave me some. It works well for me.

I have the large Steady Betty ironing surface. It's great for pressing blocks. If you can find foam backed vinyl it works the same as the Steady Betty. It use to be at fabric stores sold as outdoor fabric for tablecloths. It's hard to find now.

Also in Alaska. Maybe it is your seam measurement that isn't true. I press most of my seams open and not to the side. If to the side I will press to the dark from the underside of the block and I check the top to make sure there aren't any creases. Sometimes I spritz with water before pressing. I use the ruler and line up with the diagonal --corner to corner. I have the Steady Betty but forget to use it.

Re: Clapper

Now I know what it is called. That is what I saw Nancy use in her program about ironing seams to set them. I never knew what it was and just thought it was a piece of wood. $17.00 (USD) sounds a bit expensive. I realize that it is probably a special type of wood, but that still seems extreme. I wonder if you could get a piece of hard, unfinished, no seams type of wood like Oak and do the same thing for less money. You could sand it down really well and just put an old drawer pull for a handle. ??? Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks for all the tips. Marlene someone earlier in the thread mentioned spritzing the seams. That is one tip I am going to try.

mac, I found 1 of these at a yard sale or the thrift store. Your idea sounds like it would work great. If I hadn't found 1 I did, I would try this. Maybe I will anyway, thanks.

Even the professionals get it wrong sometimes. It really isn't worth getting stressed about, annoying maybe, but there are various way of "fudging", which I have to do in every quilt I make. I starch, pin, baste and still there is always something that gets skewed or the seams do not come out not a perfect 1/4". Remember it is meant to be a pleasure not a pain.

The best help I ever got for pressing while quilting was to set the seams while in the sewing position, then open and press flat. I don't lose little bits of my blocks if I do this. My measurements are much better this way. Give it a shot?