Quilters spend a lot of time with our irons! I get tons of questions about ironing and pressing, so here’s the lowdown on pressing your fabric, and a mini-tutorial on how to press your seam allowances.

For new quilters, it’s important to learn that pressing is NOT the same as ironing! When you iron a piece of clothing, you’re trying to smooth out wrinkles, usually with a light hand and lots of side-to-side motion.

When making a quilt, you want to press straight down and avoid any side to side pressure that might distort your fabric. Your objective is flat, undistorted fabric, a square block, and seams that lay FLAT.