Pressing your seams properly is as important as sewing them accurately. Always press your seams, either open or to the side, rather than just ironing them flat. This will give your quilts a professional finish. When it comes to pressing, accuracy is equally important. Take the time to press each seam before moving onto the next one and be sure to use the right amount of steam or heat so you don’t stretch out the fabric. With proper techniques and tools, you can achieve a well-pressed garment that looks like it has been crafted with care!
Ironing vs. Pressing
This is actually a very critical technique to master. Fabric stretches a lot. Stretching is every quilters nightmare for the most part.
Your perfect 5 in block is now 5.25 in or it’s wavy. Worse yet, those two strips you sewed together are all distorted. You can of course avoid this by starching the fabric. Recipe to follow but you still need to learn to press, not iron. Pressing is going up and down with the iron never sliding. Ironing is sliding or moving the iron side to side, back and forth. If you have yards of fabric to iron, iron from selvage to selvage.
Note always buy distilled water not Spring water. Never use tap water.
My Starch Recipe: 1 cup Sta Flo 1 cup distilled water
My Spray Recipe: 1 1/2 cups distilled water 1 1/2 cups Vodka
You can add 1/4 cup Sta Flo starch to my Spray, or you can add 1/4 cup fabric softener scented or unscented to my spray.
A great Wrinkle Release/Fold Seam remover is 1-2 Tbsp Fabric Softener in 1 cup distilled water.