Pressing matters. A pun? Or a statement of fact? Well....both! Actually, pressing is a matter I take VERY seriously! Really! I'm pretty accepting of most things. I know that, given time and practice, beginners will improve their cutting and piecing skills. I embrace that there are multiple styles of piecing, appliqués and quilting to suit all tastes. I relish the fact that fabrics come in a huge array of colors, weights, weaves and prints. But...pressing? It must be done. It must be done in the proper order. It must be done well. It.Must.
As with most things, there are some basic tools for pressing. Yes, you need a pressing surface - an ironing board, a "big board" (sold by several different companies, and the name is pretty self explanatory - it is a much wider board designed for pressing). But beyond that:
Iron:
The brand and style may be a matter of preference, but there are some features to consider when selecting your ideal iron.
- Steam - does the iron have an adjustable steam setting?
- Water - does the iron require tap water or filtered/distilled water? This will impact if you are able to fill the reservoir directly from the tap or if you have to purchase water.
- Sole plate - is it non-stick? How many vent holes are on the sole plate? And where are they located? This may seem like an extremely picky detail - until you are trying to steam a tight corner or tiny seam and discover that there aren't any vent holes near the tip of the iron.
- Cord length - how long is the cord? And does it rotate easily?
For me, my Oliso is an ideal choice. I can use tap water in the reservoir, there are generous steam vents, the cord is extra long, and it rotates easily at the base of the iron. But probably my favorite feature is that I can leave the iron flat on the ironing surface and the sensors will raise the sole plate up off my ironing board when not in use. It seems like a little thing, but not having to tip the iron up and down during serious ironing sessions is a marvelous thing!
Pressing Cloth:
The term "pressing cloth" is a fancy term for a simple piece of cloth used to protect your ironing surface. I talked in project prep about ensuring you have a clean ironing surface. Constant use of a pressing cloth can keep your ironing surface clean longer.
My pressing cloths are simple squares and rectangles of muslin. They may look awful - stained and discolored, but that is due to heavy, constant use. I wash them when they become heavily soiled, but over time they will discolor.
I use a pressing cloth when:
- paper piecing to prevent the ink from the paper piecing pattern from transferring to my ironing surface and then onto other fabrics.
- sprizting fabrics with Best Press, a sizing alternative (more below on Best Press)
- applying steam and/or spraying with water
Sizing, Starch, or Something in Between:
There are strong opinions on this subject, and I'm not trying to ruffle feathers or dispute someone's staunch opinion. Many like to spray their fabrics with a fabric starch to add stiffness to the fabric. Others prefer a sizing, which will add a bit of body and improve the fabric's hand (the overall feel of the fabric). Best Press, IMHO, is something else altogether.
It doesn't add a lot of stiffness, and doesn't seem to build up on the fabric surface. I like it because it helps release wrinkles while helping me get a super flat seam (something I am obsessed with!).
Choose what works best for you, but often you will find you need a bit of help coercing the fabric to behave.
Some other basic tools I keep handy at the ironing board:
- Small sharp scissors for trimming stray threads and snipping seams
- Seam ripper - hey, you always seem to need one, right?!
- Felt pressing mat
- Silicone pressing sheet to keep fusible off my ironing surface
Pressing Seams:
Many of us have heard press to the dark. But do you know why? Pressing to the dark means that the seams from the two fabrics are pressed to the darker of the two fabrics to help prevent shadowing. Shadowing would be, much like it sounds, what occurs when a darker fabric can be seen behind the lighter fabric.
But what about beyond pressing to the dark? With most quilt blocks, during construction you may be instructed to press so that the seams are opposing.
In the image above, I am making an hourglass or quarter square triangle block. The two HST units are placed right sides together. While you can't see the bottom unit, you CAN see a portion of the pressed seam. For BOTH units, I have pressed to the dark - to the darker orange. When the two HST units are placed together, dark to light, light to dark, the pressed seams are opposing, or going in opposite directions from each other.
Why? This reduces bulk. It also helps the seams lock together, making it MUCH easier to match up the seams and get a great looking block.
So far so good. But let's take it a step further. By opening up that center seam intersection, rather than pressing to one side, the bulk is reduced and the unit lays MUCH flatter. How do you do that? Remove the two or three stitches above the seam allowance on both sides of the intersection and then open the seam out so it looks like the picture above. Yes, you will have to repress some of your seams, but that's ok.
Here's another hourglass block - and look how flat that block is! It makes it even easier to trim down because your ruler can lay nice and flat on the block and doesn't rock back and forth.
Another great rule of thumb is to let a pieced seam lay flat when pressing. A seam with additional piecing, or additional seams in it, will not want to bend as easily. And really - think about it - when you press to one side, you are bending the fabric in a particular direction.
Look at the flying geese block above. That seam with the light blue point in it is laying nice and flat - because I pressed to the next unit. Now wait a minute, you may be saying. The bottom of that top flying geese unit has seams at the two ends. Yes, it does. But because they are at the edge of the block, it will have less impact on the block than that point RIGHT.IN.THE.CENTER. Ah - but what about the open seam at the bottom of the block?
Confession time - before I became a Studio 180 Certified Instructor, I almost never - I mean practically NEVER - pressed a seam open. But Deb Tucker converted me. I press MOST of my seams open now. Really!
Shorten your stitch length just a bit. A tiny bit. Don't go crazy here! And then press your seams open. I think you will be amazed and impressed with how flat your blocks look, how amazing your units come together, and what a difference it makes in your overall project.
Proof positive - nice flat seams and practically perfect intersections. It's worth a bit of extra effort!
Head over to Kate's blog. She will have some wonderful tips and suggestions to improve your pressing game as well.
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