System for Nesting Seams
 

While working on these pixel quilts, I have gradually developed a system for pressing the seams to the side. I am joining 1.25" squares (0.75" finished) in rows of 10. Then 10 rows to make one block. Odd rows press left, even rows press right; Odd columns press seams down, even rows press up. Would love to hear any other strategies!

Odd rows press left, even rows press right; Odd columns press seams down, even rows press up.

Exactly why I press most seams open.

Ashley, that is pretty much the way I start mine too, except I 'swirl' the seams where they meet. Of course I am not crazy enough to be working with .75 inch finished squares. LOL

As for pressing seams open, I quilt A LOT of donation tops for my guild and really do not like needing to take the time to repair a popped seam because the batting is showing thru. If the seams are pressed to the side, that 1/4 inch will keep the batting where it should be. Just MHO on the subject.

I use a stitch length of 1.8 so it's unlikely my seams will pop open. That seems to be the magic length for me to still use a seam ripper.

When I chain piece. I air stitch about four stitches between each unit - so when I cut the 7ni5s apart, there are about two stitches in the air that seem to keep the unit from coming apart.

I press my seams open. I use cotton batting. I have never had a seam break open or batting pop through. It takes a minute to press open but I like the results better.

Perhaps I should have made my statement clearer. I cannot dictate how long or short a stitch should be, or which way a seam should be pressed, on a donation top that I have not made. The guild and our community are grateful for every single donation, but not all sewists are created equal and certain trends make the job of finishing some quilts more difficult.

My guild is very large, and when we get a quilt that needs repair from being badly sewn, accident, or mistake made, it goes to the bin of needs work quilts that we tackle twice a year to redo. A workshop for members is held when we do this to learn how to repair. Everyone learns something new with each quilt or gets to show others what they know works.

This is basically what I do as well. While some find it better to press open, pressing to the side and nesting works far better for me. I am a bit OCD on seams being aligned and nesting is quicker for me as I can easily "feel" the seams nest together.