Press Seams So Flat a Block Looks Like One Piece of Fabric
This Ingenious Pressing Method Produces the Flattest Blocks We’ve Seen!
Bulky seams are just part of the piecing process, right? At some point, every quilter struggles with them, which is why there are so many tips available for producing flatter seams.
Flat seams make it easier to sew blocks together, to produce evenly spaced quilting, and they give a quilt a more polished look. The next time you’re struggling with bulky seams try this ingenious tip.
Mary from Joyful and Merry Quilting has created a pressing method that produces the flattest blocks we’ve seen. Her blocks are so flat they almost seem like one piece of fabric.
Her method involves applying liquid pressing solution to the seams before pressing. Watch as she demonstrates the process in the following video.
Click here to watch the video at YouTube if it doesn’t play on your device.
First, you’ll need a pressing solution. Mary uses Mary Ellen’s Best Press but other brands work just as well so go with whatever you have on hand. You can purchase a gallon of the lavender-scented Best Press here or choose other fragrances and bottle sizes here.
Any pressing surface will work although a wool pressing mat will heat the fabric from both sides and dry the pressing solution more quickly. You’ll find the one Mary uses here or select the size and shape you want from the options found here.
The key to Mary’s method is an empty acrylic paint marker. Mary suggests this set of markers with tips of various sizes and shapes. It’s a great option for determining what tip shape and size works best for you. We like the chisel tips on the less expensive sets of markers found here (0.20″) and here (0.43″). Or you may prefer the blunt flat tips (0.39″) on this set.
You’ll find 4-ounce squeeze bottles for filling the marker here or choose from the selection found here.
One great tip we found in the video comments was to fill several pens before you start so you don’t have to stop often and refill while you’re working.
