To press or not to press.....that is the question!

Pressing the seams in your quilt is one of the most important tasks for the completed

work. A good press will mean that the quilt is assured a smooth flow from piece to
piece both visually and to the touch. Most quilters will find that they have a style of
pressing that suits them best, but before you find that style it is important to realize

What Pressing is Not

Pressing the seams in your quilt is not the same as ironing. Although you will be

using an iron and an ironing board, it is absolutely critical to remember that you are
not ironing (that is, running the appliance over the seam with gentle pressure) but
just coaxing the seam down in order to seal it and make it less visible.

.What Pressing Is

Pressing uses the weight of the iron itself to create seam allowances that might

otherwise result in lost fabric. In a work such as a quilt, which requires many pieces
put together, lost millimeters on each piece can mean a big difference in the end
product. Pressing quilt blocks as they are made eliminates this problem.  Finally,
pressing will help give the quilt a uniform appearance and feel. The fabric should
never cover the seam on a properly pressed quilt.

Types of Pressing

There are two types of pressing; side pressing and open pressing. Side pressing is

simply pressing the seams to one side, and is generally advocated by most quilting
instructors.
Open pressing involves application of the iron both to the back and the front of the
blocks. This can take twice as long as side pressing, but those who use it say that it
greatly helps in the appearance of the quilt. This style is most appropriate when
using machine stitched pieces, which are stronger than those done by hand; the
stitch is less likely to come undone, and therefore hiding a hole will not be
necessary.

Pressing Technique.

Pressing seams is probably one of the dullest aspects of quilting, but it is important

to make sure that you do it accurately. It will help to maintain the integrity of the
quilt and can also make piecing that much easier.
One last hint, don't use steam! The heat from the iron will be sufficient for pressing.
Moisture may cause colors to run, and will make the blocks more susceptible to
distortion.  I press with steam when the block is completed.  I don't use any special iron
just my normal one.

Hope this helps with your questions Anysley.  Good luck!

Question for Terry?

How do you press your squares so perfectly? Do you use a special iron? Or one of those mini one I see in the quilting section at Jo Ann's... Seriously tell me your ways

Thanks
Aynsley

May's quilt block - mountains

I'm very excited to host this month! I've tried to come up with a unique quilt that will be fun and rewarding for others to work on. I hope I have succeeded!

Hopefully you have all received the fabric by now. I have included three fabric prints, as well as white to be used as a background.

This quilt is inspired by a few quilts I have happened upon online. This is a good representation of the general idea I have in mind:

image source

There is a unifying theme, but each bee member designs their own interpretation of the theme. The above theme is, of course, trees.

My theme is Mountains. Here are the guidelines I have for the quilt blocks you will make:

1. the finished squares should be 14 1/2" by 14 1/2"
2. Each bee member will need to make two blocks
3. The block should be completely quilted - no appliques should be used (instructions follow)
4. there should be at least some background of the white material
5. At least one of the non-white fabrics I sent you should be fairly prominent in the quilt block
6. You can (and I would encourage you to!) use fabrics from your own stash in putting together your quilt blocks. Please, of course, try to use fabrics that complement those that I have sent you.
7. You can make your mountains as big or as small as you'd like; as detailed or simple as you'd like. Feel free to include other things that you feel go along with mountains as long as there is a mountain somewhere in the quilt block.
8. Please send back any scraps of the fabric that you end up having. I will use these to create the last couple of quilt blocks.

The blocks I did for Cheryse's quilt created a picture, but I didn't applique anything on: it was sewn into the quilt block.

 

It may seem complicated, but this was my first attempt at that and it came off surprisingly well.

Method:

Draw a 14" by 14" square. Decide what you want your block to look like and draw a picture of it, to scale, on the square.

Extend the lines of the picture so that you will be able to create it by sewing different pieces of fabric together. Make the shapes as blocky and simple as possible. Label what fabric you will use for each shape.

Use letters or numbers to indicate which blocks are adjacent to each other.

Cut apart the shapes.

You will then pin each shape to the corresponding fabric and cut it out, adding an additional 1/4" to all sides of the shape.

Sew the shapes together by matching the corresponding numbers or letters. Press seams toward the darker fabric. And, voila! you have a beautiful quilt block.

Although straight lines are obviously the easiest, don't be afraid to use slight curves to create the picture you want. More intense curves can be managed by clipping the curved part of the seam in order to make it lay flat.

I hope you have fun with this one! Please feel free to let me know if I need to explain or clarify anything.

Thank you!!

-Jennie