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Pressing: When, How, What and Why…HUH???

Pressing Seams Open, Pressing Seams to One Side, Pressing Seams to the Dark Side… stumped like me?
 

Here is what I found....we press to one side to allow our seams to nest together for precision piecing, and this also reduces the amount of pins we need to use. This is definitely less time consuming and seams tend to match more perfectly.  In addition, pressing seams to one side will create a high side and a low side, which makes quilting in the ditch way easier and neater. But you can’t always follow pressing to one side as THE way to press seams, as sometimes when pressing to one side, seams will bulk up creating a lump of fabric.  This happens mostly when diagonal seams meet.  In these cases, pressing the seam open will give a smoother, neater finish.
  

Pressing seams open will make them flatter; points will be sharper, crisper, and more accurate. When your seams are pressed open you can always see where a point is when you are sewing the next seam and you can sew exactly through its point.  In this case were you to press to one side, this will invariably hide your point(s), so you are sewing blind, and may or may not go exactly through the point.

Another rule I found for pressing seams, is to press them toward the darker fabric and will avoid creating a shadow on the lighter fabric.  But when you need to nest seams, you can’t always follow this either.  Then there is ironing vs. pressing!! OH MY!!

In the long and the short of it, what I’ve discovered about the best way to press you seams is that pressing all depends on the fabric, block or design you are sewing.  So for precise pressing, its most likely you’ll use a combination of all of these pressing methods.

Okay, just what is Sizing anyway?

I’ve mainly use Sizing on appliqué pieces.  But just last week I had 2 different customers, each place a special order with me for a gallon of Mary Ellen’s Best Press.  There are a few other products on the market too, Magic Sizing and Niagara Sizing Fabric Finish Spray, and even a few recipes to make your own (see below). 

What am I missing? Just what’s the what about Sizing anyway??

Here is what I found out; in manufacturing it’s used both during the fabric weaving process and the fabric finishing process.

It’s used during the weaving process because of the structure of most textile threads, and especially those of cotton fiber, need some kind of treatment to help them withstand the tensile stain and abrasive action of the moving parts of the weaving loom.

Sizing is used in the finishing process to enhance tones of color, texture, and add softness when handled. So when we purchase new fabric it usually has a firm body and a smooth looking finish.

If you are a pre-washer like me, my guess is we are removing some or all of our fabric’s Sizing during washing.  Now those spray Sizing products make sense! We can make our washed fabric look and feel like new again by using a spray Sizing before ironing. Spray Sizing also makes ironing easier as it will give your fabric a nice crisp feel without the stiff feeling of starch.

Homemade spray starch recipe

Dissolve 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon cornstarch (depending on amount of stiffness you want) in a few tablespoons of cold water in a heat proof 2-cup measuring container. Add boiling water to make one cup, stirring constantly. Then add cold water to the 2 cup line. Let cool and use in a spray bottle.  Shake it every time you spray.  You may have to dilute it a little if it is too thick or builds up white flakes.  Discard after a week or so and make a new batch.