Ditter43

I press to the dark side....welcome from Florida!!

Ditter

gmcsewer

If you do 1/4 inch seams and have to cross them, you can stab stitch through that area and maintain the length of stitch that you desire. I am doing one of those embroideried squares stitched together for another person and the woman left the 1/2 inch allowance after stitching them together and pressed them to one side, so on some corners, I have 4 layers to go through and the only way there is to do one stitch at a time, poking down through and then stabbing back up to the top.

iltoaz

I do hand piecing and quilting and I press to the darker side.

nwm50

Hi Ditter 43 ! I saw an listing for quilt guild meeting on 4th Wed of every month for workshop in your area. I know that u said u weren't interested in a guild but thought u may want to know that it's at 9870 W Fork Island trail (St Ann Episcopal Church). Hope all is well with you. Quilting lately? I haven't yet but will soon as i've inherited some lands in Ga & have been shopping for a mobile home to put on it for weekend getaway, family reunion, etc. Found one & gotta git busy on land clearing, septic tank, etc. now..when all is done, then quilting will take up. Gotta fill that trailer up with curtains, table runner, quilt...RIGHT?

Lyn4ty

I agree press hand pieced to the side, did a queen sized double wedding ring that way and hand quilted it without much of a problem. Stabbing is about the only way when you get multiple layers of seams. I don't know what others have done, but I had to have a nice pair of pliers handy to pull up through the multiple layers at times.

Ilovemydogs

Welcome from Arizona!!

teddysmom

Hi Sandy, just went to a quilting class. Instructor told me to quilting in "the shadow"--1/4" from seam. That way I'll have no bulky seam allowances to quilt through.

By the way, we're really from Stanley. We're full time RVers doing volunteer mission work so we're only there a couple times of the year--will be there next weekend for granddaughter's college graduation & our 50th anniv. then will be there during Nov & Dec for the holidays.

Sara from Stanley NC

Gabbystabber

When hand piecing, you do not sew from edge to edge. You sew from intersection to intersection. This enables you to press the seams in any direction that will eliminate any bulk. I do press seams to one side or the other, not open. This way protects the thread so it will not wear out. Congrats on hand piecing and hand quilting. Hope you find it as relaxing as I do.
Donna from Texas

GrammaNan

From what I have learned on the board, it is mostly personal preference if you or your machine can handle the thickness of ironing them in one direction. I prefer to iron them open. I like the look of the "nesting" and I like the flatter seams. But, I am relatively new so some more experienced quilters may have better reasons to iron them one direction.

weezie

I don't piece by hand and was going to suggest you do 2 samples to see which method you like the best. Then I read your other responses from people who do hand piece and I see that pressing to one side is better. I machine piece and prefer to press seams to the darker side, rather than press them open.