Have you ever made a 4-patch or pinwheel block that was lumpy in the middle? You know what I mean... You pressed to the dark side on the two halves so that the seams nested in the center, but when you sew that center seam and then press it to one side or the other, there's a big lump in the center of the block?
Of course, you can always press the center seam open to distribute the bulk, but you can also do a little magic trick to "swirl" the center seam.
Do you notice how the center seam on the left side of the block is pressed down, and the center seam on the right side is pressed up? (The vertical seam is automatically divided to the left and right due to the nested seam prior to sewing the two horizontal halves together.) This technique opens up the bulk in the center, and distributes the seams evenly to minimize the "lump" in the middle.
I intended to do an entire photo essay on the technique, but Carrie Nelson of
Miss Rosie's Quilt Company did such an amazing job on this topic on her blog, that I decided not to re-create the wheel!
Here's the
link to her blog post on the subject. Enjoy!
1 comment:
FYI. Longarm quilters love flat seams! I imagine that free motion quilting would go much more smoothly with them too.
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