Pressing Seams Differently after 16 Years! Podcast #145

Yes, I’m making a big change to my piecing process by pressing seams differently. I’ve pressed seams open for 16 years and only now found a reason to change this technique. Learn why in this Quilt Friends Podcast #145:

You can also listen to the podcast using this player:

So just to recap – I still first press seams open and flat to get the full expression of the seam. Otherwise I find my points don’t turn out quite right and my blocks don’t measure the right size.

After pressing flat, I press the seam closed, towards the darker fabric.

I’m doing this now ONLY when I plan to quilt the quilt top on my longarm AND stitch right in the ditch.

Why am I changing this piecing technique now?

I noticed when quilting the Christmas Tree quilt, some of my seams split when I stitched right in the ditch. I’d never seen that before and started paying more attention. Then I saw it again and again and yep, my big, honking size 18 needle on my Qnique 21 was tearing up my seams!

This is the nature of a continually changing craft – we need to be flexible. What worked last year, or 5 years, or 10 years ago might continue to work great. But if you notice something isn’t working anymore, you have permission to change your methods and techniques.

Doesn’t this mean you’ve been teaching wrong techniques for years?

I get a lot of emails from beginning quilters and often hear a lot of confusion and worry. What is the “right” way to do this? Why does Jane Doe teach it differently from you? Why don’t we all make quilts the exact same way with the exact same techniques?

Well, does anyone do anything all the same way, with the exact same methods and techniques? I bet if we asked 100 women how they apply lipstick, you’d have 100 different methods on the best way to do it.

Quilting is an opinion AND experience based craft!

We all have opinions on what we think works best. I still think stitching right in the ditch is just fine. This is my opinion.

But my recent experience has just taught me a lesson – I can’t stitch right in the ditch on my Qnique 21 longarm with a size 18 needle. That combination caused bad things to happen to my quilt! Opinion is good, but experience is better. I’m sharing a new experience and updating my techniques because of it.

And thinking in such rigid terms as “right” and “wrong” can be very limiting. Instead of trying to find the “right” way, simply try a technique and ask yourself – did that work out okay? Did you like that method? Did it result in the quilt you wanted?

Only by trial and error, only by experience can we learn what we like, how we like to do it, and what works best for us!

Let’s Piece some Dresden Plates and Rings!

If you’d like to join in the fun of our Dresden Plate Block Along, make sure to pick up a new Dresden Template Set. I’m not writing a pattern for this quilt. It’s a block along so we’re just making some pretty blocks together and will end up with a pretty quilt at the end of the year!

Let’s go quilt,

Leah Day