Free Quilt Patterns - Pressing Basics - How to Press Your Fabrics and Quilt Blocks

Pressing Quilt Blocks & Fabrics

Pressing your fabrics is essential. For starters, you'll find that your piecing accuracy improves when fabrics are wrinkle-free.

During block assembly, pressing seam allowances helps eliminate little widths of fabric that become "lost" in seams, creating distortions and making blocks smaller than they should be. Let's say your block contains a row of pieced units, and in that row there are a total of ten seams. What if a hairline's width of fabric is caught up in each seam allowance simply because you didn't press? It doesn't sound like much, but multiply a hairline by 10 and it becomes the difference between stitching an accurate block or a block that won't match up to its neighbors.

You might argue that, if all seams are smaller by the same amount, what difference does it make? The difference might not be a problem if you're constructing very simple blocks, and sewing identical blocks side by side, but it will make a big difference in more complex quilts where different types of blocks must be sewn together.

Get into the habit of pressing each unit after its assembly and you'll see an immediate improvement in your quilt blocks.

Press, Don't Iron!

The most important thing to remember when using an iron on your quilting fabrics and pieced units is that you press, allowing the weight of the iron to do the work for you without moving the iron back and forth vigorously across the surface of the fabric.

Pick the iron up and set it down, rather than dragging it back and forth across your blocks. You can use more movement when pressing large pieces of fabric, but don't get carried away.

Steam or No Steam?
Quilters disagree on whether or not to steam press. I rarely use steam to press my quilt blocks, but sometimes it is helpful.

Steam Pros

Careful steam pressing can help you bring a skewed block back into square.
Used carefully, steam produces crisply pressed seam allowances and fabrics.

Steam Cons

If you tug at a dampened block it is more likely to stretch.
Hot steam could cause some unwashed fabrics to bleed, leaving stains.

My Favorite Iron

I love my Rowenta iron. Its heavy weight makes pressing a breeze. Some quilters prefer Bernina irons, which are also heavy. Talk to experienced quilters about their favorites and visit a quilt shop where you can try out different irons.

How to Press a Pieced Unit

Place the pieced unit on your ironing board unopened, just as it was sewn, with the fabric that the seam allowance will be pressed towards facing up. Set the iron down along the unopened seam to "set" the threads.
Flip the top fabric back gently, opening the unit by using your fingers to fold it away from the bottom fabric along the seam line.
Place the edge of the iron on the lower strip and very gently work it towards and over the seam. Allow the weight of the iron to press the seam flat. Raise and lower the iron along the entire length of the seam to finish pressing.
Turn the unit over and press from the back to complete the job.
Now turn the unit over and look at it from the front. Notice that seam allowances on the back make the front of the unit pooch out a bit, creating what's called a loft. You'll put that trait to work for you when you sew units together.

Sewing Units Into Rows

Sew units together to create rows, then arrange the block on a design wall or flat surface.
Analyze the rows and press seams that will adjoin each other in opposite directions when possible, forcing seam lofts to butt into each other for a snug fit and a perfectly matched intersection.

Pressing Seams Open Instead of to One Side

Some quilters prefer to press machine-pieced seams open rather than to one side. I have pressed seams open when making miniature quilts and wallhangings, but have not personally chosen to do that for large quilts.

Most quilters feel pressing to one side helps strengthen the seam and also helps them match seams up for sewing. I think the verdict is still out on increased strength, but the matching-up issue is a matter of preference. To match pressed-open seams, you simply stick a straight pin through the seam lines on adjoining patches to line them up exactly, then continue aligning the remaining edges.

I generally do not like to use straight pins at all when I'm sewing, so I'd rather have seam allowances that butt into each other, allowing me to do away with pins. You might prefer the security that pins provide.

It seems to me that pressed open seams tend to unravel a bit at the ends if the blocks lay around awhile before they are assembled into a quilt, but that can be avoided by tying a (very gentle) little knot in the two threads at the end of each seam before you trim back the bulk of the string length.

Pressing seams open creates less bulk on the back side of the quilt top. It also helps you sew a true 1/4-inch seam, because less fabric becomes tied-up in the pressover.

Like many other quilting tasks, there are no absolute "right" or "wrong" ways to sew a seam. What's important are the techniques that work for you. Try pressing seams open to see if you like the results.

Make Sure the Block Is Square

Use a rotary ruler to make sure each block is square and is the correct, unfinished size. If it's smaller than it should be, look at the seams. Did you press each one adequately? If pressing looks good, it could be that you used a seam allowance that's slightly larger than 1/4", the standard quilting seam.

Squaring Up Skewed Quilt Blocks

If the quilt block is distorted, cut a freezer paper square to match its correct, unfinished size. Draw lines on the non-plastic side; lines should represent strategic areas of the block, such as:

diagonal centers, lines from corner to corner
horizontal center, a line across its midpoint
vertical center, a line up and down through its vertical midpoint
a 1/4" line inwards around the block's outer edge to represent the correct seam allowance
any line to help you match the block to the paper

Press the freezer paper to the ironing board, plastic side down, and place the block on top of the paper. Manipulate the block so that strategic areas of the block match their counterparts on the freezer paper. Stab straight pins through the block and into the ironing board to help keep it in place.

Press. Steam will come in handy here, but be careful not to tug and press too hard or you could stretch the block even more out of shape. When you're satisified that the block has been squared, spritz on a bit of spray sizing and press again. The sizing will help the block retain its shape.

Grid-marked pressing pads and rulers are available commerically and can take the place of freezer paper.