Press left, press right

On Mar 26, 12:27*am, "Polly Esther" wrote:
We've all heard the Quilt Police. *Press this way; press that. *Aim toward
the feed dogs, aim away. *Pin before and aft and in the middle. *Sew over
pins. *Don't.
* * I've declared myself an 'expert'. *For those of you who don't know, an
expert is someone 50 miles away from home with a briefcase.
* * Bringing forward my dress making experience and my heirloom sewing along
too - I have decided to ignore the rules and press my quilt piecing/block
seams open.
* * Yes.
* * I have.
* * Just in case that would make the seam endings weaker or more prone to
come undone, I've set my stitch length a little shorter.
* * Ta-Dah.
* * I've just make a quilt top of something so sweet: *Tweetie Bird on
bright yellow combined with a batik of Blue Jay blue. *Every ... need to
HOLLER he *corner. *Every one of them is pretty perfect.
* * Open pressing just works so much better for me. *Conclusion? * Let's all
go out and break some rules. *After all . .. there's a full moon. *Polly

This is a geat thread! I was pressing seams open when I first started
because that's what I thought you did...it worked...then I actually
bought some quilting books and found out it was "wrong." If it works,
it can't be all wrong, can it? Thanks for the chuckles, Polly, and
for starting this thread. Donna

That was fun, wasn't it? Did you notice that we pretty much stayed on the
subject? Often as not a thread wanders down all sorts of dirt roads - which
suits me just fine. I'm pinning the blue/yellow Irish Chain just now and am
sooo pleased with the accuracy. I know. Baby won't care but I do. Polly


"dealer83" This is a geat thread! I was pressing seams open when I first
started
because that's what I thought you did...it worked...then I actually
bought some quilting books and found out it was "wrong." If it works,
it can't be all wrong, can it? Thanks for the chuckles, Polly, and
for starting this thread. Donna

What do they make you do in Quilt Jail?

How about making you quilt!!!

Where can I sign up for quilt jail????

Claudia

When I really want perfect pressing, I really press everything toward
the dark side, sortof. One needs to determine exactly which seams go
where and work it out in advance, so it can be fiddly. But to achieve
"dark side" at all intersections, I clip one layer of the seam at each
side of the intersection so the seam can flip the right way. this
means the actual intersections will be pressed open, and everything
else to one side. This IMO gives the best result with the least bulk,
for quite a lot of block patterns. But I don't always bother! Pressing
everything to one side and letting the chips fall where they may is
faster.
Roberta in D

On Fri, 26 Mar 2010 11:09:50 -0500, "Polly Esther"
wrote:

There are, of course, times when seams pressed to the side look better. For
example, Pat on the Green taught me that when you have a piece that you want
to stand out and look framed, pressing the seams toward the picture will
lift it. I've enjoyed that trick. Polly


"Ruby" I have been following "the rules" for pressing seams and am never
happy
with the end result as when piecing the finished blocks and strips always
end with some seams meeting the wrong way and bulking up. so happy to hear
that open pressing works as have been tempted to do it. Big sigh of
relief. here goes.
Ruby
Polly Esther wrote:
We've all heard the Quilt Police. Press this way; press that. Aim
toward the feed dogs, aim away. Pin before and aft and in the middle.
Sew over pins. Don't.
I've declared myself an 'expert'. For those of you who don't know, an
expert is someone 50 miles away from home with a briefcase.
Bringing forward my dress making experience and my heirloom sewing
along too - I have decided to ignore the rules and press my quilt
piecing/block seams open.
Yes.
I have.
Just in case that would make the seam endings weaker or more prone to
come undone, I've set my stitch length a little shorter.
Ta-Dah.
I've just make a quilt top of something so sweet: Tweetie Bird on
bright yellow combined with a batik of Blue Jay blue. Every ... need to
HOLLER he corner. Every one of them is pretty perfect.
Open pressing just works so much better for me. Conclusion? Let's
all go out and break some rules. After all . .. there's a full moon.
Polly

Stitch in the ditch in pressed open seams can be magical (I found out
quite by chance!). I was using variegated thread, and the lowest width
and length zig-zag. It really does look lovely (you can't really see
that it is zig-zag. So very pretty.

I have also straight quilted on pressed open seams. After all, you are
sewing across the seam thread, into the batting and backing - it isn't
going to go anywhere unless any thread breaks - and that's a problem
whenever it happens. It isn't as obvious - but sometimes that's a
benefit!
..
In message , Michelle C.
writes
I can see where this idea has a lot of merit. I just have to wonder if
it would be a good idea if part of the quilting plan would be to stitch
in the ditch?


--
Best Regards
Pat on the Green

I especially like pressing backing seams open.

I have pieced backs on lots of my quilts. Not a lot of seams, but
some. It makes hand quilting much easier if they are pressed flat.

susan k
see my quilts: members.cox.net/kratersge

Yes they do! (but not sure what quality the scissors are).

http://www.finecellwork.co.uk

Sally at the Seaside ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~uk
http://picasaweb.google.com/SallySeaside



Michelle C. wrote:
NightMist wrote:


What do they make you do in quilt jail anyway?
Geometry? Shred polycotton for pillow stuffing? Starch and iron white
fabric for hours, and then swap you to black?

NightMist


No, they give you lovely bolts of batiks, Hancocks, blenders, florals,
and novelty fabrics and NO scissors!

And finally! I'm just so pleased to report that the pressed open quilt is
nearly finished. It's still a bit damp and is flat on the kitchen counter
to dry. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Pressing the seams open was a good,
good idea. Not one place did the seams scootch 2 threads over and miss.
Not one. The quilt is only blue and yellow 9-patches - nothing
challenging - but the contrast would have made one missed intersection
visible from a galloping horse. Galloping gator? Whatever. It's spring,
you know. Polly

Ok, We need pictures of that!

amy in CNY