Press Your Quilts... Don't Iron Them
Always press your quilt blocks, allowing the weight of the iron to do the work for you. Avoid moving the iron back and forth vigorously across the surface of your blocks, because the movement will possibly stretch them out of shape.You can use movement when pressing large pieces of fabric, but take care not to pull and tug too hard.
Steam or No Steam?
Quilters disagree on whether or not to steam press. I rarely use steam to press my quilt blocks, but sometimes it is helpful.Steam Pros
- Careful steam pressing can help you square-up a skewed block.
- Steam pressing produces crisply pressed seam allowances and fabrics.
Steam Cons
- If you tug at a block that's been dampened with steam it is more likely to stretch.
- Steam could cause some fabrics to bleed, leaving stains.
I keep a spritzer bottle filled with water on the ironing board. If I need a little moisture, I mist a specific area and avoid sending loads of hot steam throughout my quilt blocks.
Try pressing your quilt components and blocks with and without steam to find out which method works best for different situations.
Do you like the Paths & Stiles variation quilt block illustrated on this page? Here's the quilt block pattern.
