How To's

Pressing Seams

Which way do the seams lay in a block? In a quilt? The border seams? The short answer is the way of least resistance.

However, toward the darker fabric is sometimes best! There is not always that option though. I have pressed toward the white when the least amount of bulk would occur and have my piece lay flat.

A general rule for pressing is to move the seam toward the piece that has the least amount of seams.

I have pressed seams open when there is too much bulk for them to lay one way or the other.

For sashing I always press the seam allowance away from the block or you might say press it toward the sashing.

For corner stones that are with sashing I press them the way the sashing dictates! They will be in two directions. There will be two going in one direction and two opposite.

I press regular border seams going away from the center of the quilt. I deal with pieced borders as the situation dictates. There would seem to be a path that would produce the least amount of bulk when turning.

Think of how you press when each block will be set together. This might tell you that half would be pressed in one direction and the other half in the opposite direction.