World Wide Quilting Page

Question of the Week

Question for the week of April 28, 2003:

Our question this week comes Stanley G:

How do you keep the seam allowances from showing through the quilt top?

dorothy :
press seam toward darker fabric

Dot Bertolino :
Whenever possible I iron towards the dark, but when I cannot I trim the dark one to an 1/8 seam. I also try not to use a very lightweight cotton that is semitransparent.

Louise :
If possible, press to the dark side. When that's not possible, I just don't worry about it. Unless the fabric is thin or very light in color, it won't show much. If it does, that's just part of the quilt. I'm not sure our great-grandmothers worried about this.

caroline :
Try to use good quality cotton fabric, and if you are using sheer fabric: organza, silk etc., finish the seams and make them an integral part of the design. Or, perhaps, embroider over the seams, machine stitch over the seams, etc., . Press to the dark, and by the way, I think seam allowances show up when you are using solid colours. I seldom use solid coloured fabric as the eye is drawn to solids more than to prints, etc. Sometimes, consider the number of pcs. in the block you are making: If the seam allowances show, does it matter too much?

Jen :
Try pressing your seams open - as in dressmaking -if they are machined they should be strong enough.

Susan K. :
It is not always possible to press toward the darker fabric. If the seam is showing through the top, I grade it so the darker is a little smaller than the top (hold the scissors at an angel and trim a tiny bit off)

Jessica :
by not showing the seam allowences

Kathy/WA :
The standard method is to press seams toward the darker fabric. I will be interested to see how others do it.

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