Quilting 101: Should You Press Seams Open or Closed?

How do you decide which way to press your patchwork seams? Open or to the side? In quilting, it seems there are a lot of options and opinions when it comes to quilt seams.

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Here, we’re going to break down some of the pros and cons of both methods, with quilt block examples of each.

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- Keeps the seams stronger (pro) - The extra “smidge” of fabric in the seam can make your block slightly too small. It may be harder to achieve a perfect ¼″ seam allowance.

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- There is less bulk as the two layers of fabric from the seams are separated (pro). - The lack of bulk makes all over free motion quilting easier when you are a beginner (pro).

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I have found that longer seams need to be pressed open. It’s harder to “wiggle” all of the fabric out of the center of a long seam, and the seam can distort as you press it.

[{"selector":"#anim-872f3dd9-37b0-4b32-a83e-94b70b185ed0","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":1000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-9de83111-b631-4b8c-8bf2-e24ce704ac26","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-115.90909%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":1000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-a9de5a03-8f2c-4bec-8de8-512223d26949","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":2500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-5c2b0407-8cd9-49fc-922b-36b4b85d482e","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-b39a4a03-bb25-42f0-9d59-202397c2606a","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(99.72603%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-2c8ccc47-d68e-42b9-bc03-d8d6bfc7b61b","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":100,"duration":1000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-0705e0f7-d533-4131-bab9-2dcf81fb939f","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-115.73771%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":100,"duration":1000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Learn more

To do this, I pressed the seams of the left side of the block to the print fabric and the seams of the right side of the block to the background fabric.

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I press open the half-square triangle seams before trimming down to size.

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Quilting 101: Should You Press Seams Open or Closed?

How do you decide which way to press your patchwork seams? Open or to the side? In quilting, it seems there are a lot of options and opinions when it comes to quilt seams.

Here, we’re going to break down some of the pros and cons of both methods, with quilt block examples of each.

- Keeps the seams stronger (pro) - The extra “smidge” of fabric in the seam can make your block slightly too small. It may be harder to achieve a perfect ¼″ seam allowance.

Pressing Seams to the Side Pros & Cons

- There is less bulk as the two layers of fabric from the seams are separated (pro). - The lack of bulk makes all over free motion quilting easier when you are a beginner (pro).

Pressing Seams Open Pros & Cons

I have found that longer seams need to be pressed open. It’s harder to “wiggle” all of the fabric out of the center of a long seam, and the seam can distort as you press it.

Example One: Pressing Seams Open

To do this, I pressed the seams of the left side of the block to the print fabric and the seams of the right side of the block to the background fabric.

Example Two: Pressing Seams to One Side

I press open the half-square triangle seams before trimming down to size.

Example 3: Pressing Both Open & To the Side

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