b.zang

Good explanation. Sometimes I will also take the time to reinforce the stitching where I've clipped the seam allowance.

burchquilts

I always press my seams open & this is the reason why. I wish I had a fix for you, but I just don't. Sorry...

teddysmom

I have that same issue. My problem is that I hand piece and hand quilt. I was told NOT to press the seams open because hand pieced don't hold to tension bein placed on them. Any hand quilters who press the seams open? It would certainly make matching seams much easier.

lfletcher

I make a small clip in one of the seams about 1" down and then press this to the other side. I don't like to press seams open as I do a lot of stitching in the ditch and if the seam is pressed open, you are just quilting the threads not the fabric.

Rose Marie

I saw this trick on a show once.
If a seam will not line up right take a piece of 1/2 in scotch tape and with both fabric seams in alignment tape togather then fold in half and sew. You have a perfect 1/4 in seam and your seams are in alignment.

judy363905

Kathy... you do not know how happy this makes me to hear

PS we returned from Texas on Tuesday ...lovely visit with family.....very high humidity....can home to 112 degree Dry Heat... but still hot.
Judy in Phx, AZ

rrhaigh

I was always told not to press seams open when making a quilt. I was told the seams are not as strong when pressed open. So, I never even tried it. For those of you who do press seams open, have you had any issues with quilts that ar used and washed a lot?

Rose_P

Right now I'm having a similar problem with a D4P, and whenever I can, I switch one of the seams back the other way so it will nest. It's annoying to have to do this, but usually a little pressing stick is all that's needed. So far I haven't found any on a D4P that couldn't be done this way. On the D9P there may be a difference. If you can work out where the problem is going to occur, maybe you can decide to just press just those seams open.

I have better luck with nesting seams because I avoid pinning whenever I can - just me. Whether to press open or not also depends on what you're planning to do with the quilt. If it's going to get a lot of use and washing, open seams are not as strong because there's nothing between the two pieces except the thread.

However, Bonnie Hunter, who makes lots of strip pieced quilts, says on Quiltville somewhere that she presses hers open. That's enough of a reason to do it that way, as far as I'm concerned. I love her work!

MacThayer

I press all my seams open, and have never had a problem with wear and tear. Of course, I use a very short stitch while piecing, and I'm careful to press the seam closed (to bury the stitch), and then press them open. When doing stitch-in-the-ditch, I will also fortify with a stitch on one or the other side, or both, or some echo stitching. Just my way. A little extra quilting and pinning is worth it to me to have my points line up. To each her/his own!

cjackaitlin

Thanks for the tip Judy, we all seem to have the same problem. I will try your fix on my next quilt. Mary