Beginner's Guide to Quilting - UK (2020-02)

Press seams in opposite directions,

so they ‘nest’ together

Where possible, press towards

darker fabrics.

longer the seam, the more pins you
should use, especially those that intersect
with other seams. It may seem fiddly but
will ensure a far better finish.

Learn the basics
Straight seams
This is the easiest type of seam to sew,
and the most common type of seam you’ll
need to sew when you’re working with
patchwork projects. See our step-by-step
guide to sewing a straight seam (right).

Nesting seams
This is a way of pressing your seams so
they fit together (or ‘nest’) neatly when
you line them up with another pieced
section. See page 49 to find out more.

Strip piecing
Strip piecing is a nifty technique that you
can use to sew two, three or more strips
of fabric together and then cut them into
larger shapes or blocks. It’s a great
technique for speedy piecing, and for
transforming long solid fabric strips into
checked or stripy patterns. See our step
by step guide on page 44.

Chain piecing
This is a clever way to speed up your
piecing if you’re machine sewing together
a batch of similar-shaped pieces of fabric.
You sew your two pieces together, but
instead of cutting the thread you feed the
next pair onto the same length of thread
on your sewing machine, then snip them

apart later at the trimming stage.

See page 50 for our easy tutorial.

How to press your seams

Pressing is an important part of

patchwork and quilting and can make

a huge difference to the look of your

finished project. Follow these useful

guidelines for great results.

• Iron fabrics before you use them – this
  will make cutting more accurate and
  ensure you have straight edges.


• Press your seams as you go. Press the
  seam open first to set the stitches and
  then press it to one side or according to
  the project instructions.


• If you’re piecing two different fabrics,
  press towards the darker fabric if
  possible. This way the colour won’t show
  through the paler fabric on the right side.


• Take care when using steam as this can
  stretch and distort the bias edges of
  fabric. Spray starch is useful to stabilise
  fabrics and give them more body.


• Sometimes, rather than using an iron
  your piecing can be finger pressed –
  particularly if you’re sewing small units or
  short seams. Simply use your thumbnail
  against a hard surface to press the seam
  flat. Helpful tools such as seam rollers are
  also available for this process.


• When you’re piecing together two units
  that will later be sewn together, press the
  seams in opposite directions where
  possible so they ‘nest’ together neatly
  (see page 49 for our step-by-step guide
  to nesting seams).

05

HOW TO PRESS SEAMS

Where possible, press seams away

from blocks with multiple seams.

Sewing a straight seam

FOLLOW THESE STEPS TO

SEW YOUR FIRST SEAM

STEP 1 Cut your fabric pieces to the

size you need. Place the first two

pieces right sides together, lining up

the edges to sew.

STEP 3 Take the sewing off the

machine and press the seams open or

to one side.

STEP 2 Pin the two pieces together,

then sew along the edge to secure

them in place, using a ¼in seam.