What does “setting my seams” mean?
This term refers to pressing the seams of your patchwork after you sew two pieces together. You “set the seams” before you press open your patchwork .
Take a look at this HST….I have sewn my two pieces together and I now need to press open my patchwork.
(The angled corners are where I trim off my dog ears before hand.)
Take your iron and gently press over the 1/4″ seam area only, no steam needed! This is going to press the seam flat and also imbed the thread into the fibers of your fabric.
Why do we bother setting seams?
Well, now when you press open your patchwork there will be less distortion and your work will be just a little more precise:)
I don’t know about you, but if I don’t do this my seam line gets just a little wonky and when my block has a lot of piecing all that wonkiness really adds up!
What a cute little HST!
What if you don’t wanna set your seams??? Good news is this is just one of those quilty things you just have to try and see if you like it or not….and if you don’t….dump that technique and keep moving:) At least now you will know what it means when you hear the term though.
Keep it Sassy♥
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Great quilting tip Sassy!
Thank You!!!!
I came across this setting of seams only the other day and now do it all the time a great tip
This is the first time I have heard about this at all, it is not mentioned in any quilting book I have read. I will absolutely be giving it a try. x
I hate setting my seams, but I usually do it anyway. It really does make a big difference in my finished quilts, especially since I’m not the more patient or precise quilter in the world.
I do it about half the time. I should probably do it 100% of the time though. Maybe one day!
How do you like that Oslio iron?
I always set my seams! great tip, Paula!
:) Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation
I used to always set my seams…. But now I rarely do. And I press my seams open whenever practical. Love how flat the top lays… But then you can’t stitch in the ditch. Great tip though, Paula. It’s a good idea to give everything a try once or twice and see what works best for you. Thanks for sharing!
Always great photos and tips!!!