Pressing Open or to the Dark Side?

As you can probably guess this is a highly debated topic.  I can see both sides of the quilt.  You have the group of quilters that always press to the dark side.  Then you have the group of quilters that always press open.  Who’s correct?  Is one way better than the other?  The ultimate goal is to make sure your piecing stays together so is one way better than the other?  Lets’ explore some reasons for both sides of the quilt!

Pressing quilt seams is a crucial step in any quilt-making process that will not only make it easier to join your blocks, it will also make your finished creation lie flatter and look so much more polished. Some quilters might prefer to finger-press but pressing seams with an iron is really your best bet. But should you press your seams open or to the dark side?

Like some of you, I took sewing in home economics in middle school.  My lovely sewing teacher Ms. Alexander was a firm believer in pressing open.  But thinking back she taught us basic machine operation and garment making.  So being a good listener I pressed open.  Sitting on my Memaw’s right, she was a finger presser.  I remember questioning her once about it and her response was “it’s faster”.  Several quilting classes later, various instructors taught me to press my quilt seams to the side, actually to the dark side. That simply means that your seam should lay on the wrong side of the darkest fabric you are using.  I was told this was so your seams wouldn’t show through the lighter fabric and that pressing it this way would make your seam stronger. However recently, there has been a debate on social media and in guilds as to which way is preferable.

The Case to Pressing to the Side

Pressing quilt seams to the side is faster than pressing open and makes it easier to lock seams in place.  It gives you that little added help in a clean seam intersection. This occurs because seams are pressed to opposite directions when sewing sections together.  Pressing seams to the side also makes your seam flatter. Seams that are pressed open make your thread more vulnerable to damage due to threads being exposed. That ¼” of fabric protects your threads from pulling as well as shredding from stress or catching on something that could rip the seam. This puts you at risk for unraveling fabric.

Pressing Open

One reason many quilters like to press quilt seams open is that they feel the pieces lay stronger. Unfortunately, if you were to stitch in the ditch, you would not catch fabric but threads. And doing so could weaken that seam. Fabric plus thread equals strength.

Quilting is a personal journey, so you need to do what feels right for you. I have my feet firmly planted on both sides of the quilt.  I sometimes press open, other times I press to the dark side.  Sometimes I just let my quilt tell me what it wants to do.  It helps to know the “whys” and “how’s” of your decisions. If you choose to press your block seams open, you may want to consider not doing stitch in the ditch. I’m just throwing that out there!