How to Press Fabrics for a Quilt

Properly preparing your fabric for quilting will save you from trying to piece together a quilt top that has pulled out of shape before it is bond or the heartache of seeing it buckle or ripple the first time it's washed. Pressing fabric for a quilt requires attention to detail and using care not to pull the fabric out of shape.

Things You'll Need

• Fabric
• Iron

Instructions

1. Before you begin any quilting project it is important to wash and dry the fabric to prevent it from shrinking when the final product is washed. Wash new fabric in cold water and dry as usual in the dryer.

2. Remove the fabric from the dryer and press with a dry iron to remove any wrinkles.

3. Cut and sew fabric pieces according to your pattern.

4. Once a square has been completed, it is time to iron the fabric to maintain perfectly square corners and edges.

5. Set the iron on the desired heat seating for your fabric.

6. Place the square on the ironing board with the wrong side of the fabric facing up.

7. Depending on the project, you will either iron all the seams open, or you will iron the seams toward the darkest fabric. On projects where joining colors are approximately the value in color, ironing the seam open works well. For projects where a very light color meets a dark color, it is necessary to iron the seam toward the dark color to prevent the seam showing through the light fabric in the final product.

8. To iron a seam open, gently open the seam with your fingers and press a dry iron down on the seam. Do not use a backward and forward motion with the iron. This may stretch the fabric out of shape. Hold the iron in place for a few seconds and check the seam. You may need to apply the iron several times to cover the entire seam.

9. To iron a seam toward the darkest fabric, simply push the seam to the side and apply a dry iron. Do not use a back and forth motion. Simply pick up the iron and place it on the areas you need to press.

10. When sewing squares together or attaching the binding to the quilt, use the same guidelines to determine whether you should press the seams open or press to the darkest material.

Tips & Warnings

• Pressed quilt squares should be stored flat until you are ready to put the quilt together.

• Generally, you can wait until an entire square is finished before pressing, but you may need to press individual seams while creating the quilt square, if the design is complex.

• Small seams within a square can be finger pressed by simply folding the seam and running your fingers down the seam.

• Never use the steam setting on your iron to press quilt pieces. The heat and moisture may stretch small fabric pieces out of shape.