Skittl1321

No steam if I starch, steam if I don't.
Also, I tend to iron and have never had anything catostrophic happen.

jaciqltznok

spray with water/best press and then press with a dry iron!

scraphq

I like light steam, but sometimes the iron is empty and I'm in no mood to stop and fill, I just dry iron. Amazingly, that works for me, too!

Dolphyngyrl

I like lots of steam

burchquilts

Me, too. It's kinda not fun when I'm pressing my seams open & kinda scald my fingers but like anything else, you get used to it. I also steam when I use sizing.

katydidkg

I like steam, but I gently iron my blocks so as not to distort the seams.

jcrow

I use best press on my fabric, first thing. Then, if it needs it, I use steam. I press, but I have ironed with and without distorting. I'm learning.

gollytwo

that's me too, except I rarely iron fabric before cutting, even if it's been washed , which it seldom is.

majormom

I steam each seam to set it and then to press it to the side. I have often wondered if steaming shrinks the fabric at all. Since I'm not sure, I make sure to do all the seams with steam so that if it does shrink the fabric, all of it will be shrunk. I don't wash the fabric before using it anymore so if there is shrinkage, it's from the steam pressing. I have never really tested it.

ghostrider

I do what works for me after years of trying all the options and what works for me is NOT what works for other quilters. You should do what works for you and not bother with anyone else's rules.

Make some identical blocks (include HSTs or other bias edges in them), trimming to make sure they're all the same size. Press some both dry and steam, then iron some both dry and steam. Measure them all again. Note any changes. That'll give you a starting spot for accuracy.

If you're obsessive about it, you can refine that testing procedure for the best (i.e., most accurate) method for pressing seams, too. Make one block using only dry pressing. Make another using only steam ironing. Then the other two ways, then some combinations. It sounds tedious, and it is, but you'll know for sure what works best for you when you're done....and phooey on everyone else.