I’ve been piecing pinwheels – and lamenting at how bulky they were at their middle point. Then! Along came American Patchwork and Quilting (courtesy of dear Amy) which lo and behold, asked a bevy of patchwork experts whether they pressed the seam to the side – as I was taught 15 years ago – or open – as I was itching to do with my pinwheels. And what was the overhwelming response – open. Especially when sewing triangles. The only person that insisted on pressed to one side did so because of wanting to quilt in the ditch – which I don’t do anyway.
I gleefully took to my bumpy pinwheels with the iron …
and what a result! So flat! So smooth! Mmmmmm…..
I’ve also tried pinning differently – instead of pinning from the top edge of the seam in, I have been pinning parallel with the seam edge but in quite a bit so that the pins don’t interfere with my new 1/4 inch foot that has a nice and helpful guide on the edge.
And I like it. Isn’t change refreshing and thrilling. :-)
p.s. this is a sneak peek at the yellow and white quilt. It’s coming along very yellowy-whitey.
For years I’ve been pressing to one side…and just in the last 6 months I’ve tried pressing open on triangle blocks and pinwheels just like you…I find it is much more accurate.
I can hardly wait to see the finished quilt! I will definitely have to try pressing open.
I LOVE finding new ways for old problems. Kind of makes a process fresh and new and appealing. I only press open when I’m really trying to reduce bulk. Otherwise I find that my seams start splitting open with handling and pinning. Harumph. Yellow and white sounds very calming.
Lily what an excellent idea.
Thank you for sharing that.
I am going to give it a try.