I hand piece and hand quilt and find the seams pressed to one side are must stronger. Tried pressing seams open but didn't like the final results.

I tried pressing open but it takes more time (I guess because I was not used to it). Also I burned my fingers so I am now back to pressing to one side.

Both ways work depending on the block being made. Sometimes open, most times to the side.
There is no "one way" to press seams. Even a hammer works if you want to get a thick seam to be flatter.
peace

I press to the dark side, if possible. If I have to piece a border, I press the seam open, because it seems to be less noticeable that way. I had directions for one quilt that said to press all seams open. After awhile, that became a real pain. Took longer to press and really slowed me down.

Be open to change. I have ALWAYS pressed to the side when doing a D4P so they would nest. Then on this latest project, for some reason unbeknownst to me, they won't work and after ripping out some more than once to get that "perfect" match, I gave up and tried one pressed open. Worked and so I finished the rest doing it that way. The only thing I can figure is that I haven't been starching the limpness out on these, no other explanation that I know of. So I do what works for the current project.

I press to the side as that was the way I was taught when I started. But folks do it both ways, it is personal preference, not right or wrong.

I was taught to press seams to the side but a few years ago I read in one of the magazines that the more popular quilters were pressing seams open. I have tried it a few times, but I end up burning my fingers on those scant 1/4 seams. I have no opinion on which way is best, do it your own way.

To me, pressing seams open is just so much work!! I only do it if the situation warrants it. Stack & Whack, for example...all the points of those six triangles meeting in the middle is a huge lump unless you press open. (And then it's just a medium lump) Or the baby changing pad I did recently - no batting so I wanted the seams to be flat and not ridges, so I pressed everything open on that.

MOST of the time I press to the side. It's faster, easier, and lets me nest my seam junctions together for best accuracy.

This is a very interesting subject. I,too, am working on D4P's and have really been upset about seams meeting and having to discard so many. Today I am going to try open seams and see if I like it. Thanks for bringing this up.

When I first began quilting, the norm was to press seams to one side, but now I think more and more quilters are deciding how to press seams, based on the block. Sometimes seams need to be pressed open to eliminate bulk, such as some star blocks, but mainly I think it is personal preference.