Hand piecing

As you sew each pair of pieces you can finger press.

When piecing by hand there is no need to press to one side as you do not sew the seam allowances down.

After the block is finished you can press and decide which way you want the seam allowances to go so each block fits together nicely.

marcella

Why would you do more tham finger press for hand piecing?

You could also try Manx quilting for when you are travelling.

Ehhh, because in the end wouldn't I need it more than finger pressed before layering and quilting??

Hmm, interesting too.

Hanne on London

Hanne, I'd press after completing the entire block; that's what I do with my quilted diamond blocks. That's because you need to keep the seam allowances free so as not to sew through them as you cross them. Make sense? Anyway, after you've made the block, you can press the entire thing, making the seam allowances go whichever way(s) you think will work best for you. HTH.

Howdy!

I press the blocks when I have time, when I get to a stopping point or before I start another batch. That helps, huh? Hand piecing allows for more "fudging" of seams, getting things to line up properly, so I can put off the usual make a block, press it, make another block, press it. But I do like for the top to lie flat, eventually, before sandwiching the quilt. ;-)

Ragmop/Sandy

I don't press hand piecing - but others may differ on that point.

I figure that back when hand piecing was the ONLY way quilting (or any sewing for that matter) was done, they didn't press. So why should I?

Wait until you have several blocks done and do all the pressing at once. Simply lay each finished block face down and press the seams in whichever direction you think will work best.

What size quilt do you plan to make with the 9 patches? Or is quilt size going to be determined by the number of patches you can do during your travels?

BTW, your hand stitching will improve during the travel piecing so hand applique will be easier for future projects. Debra in VA See my quilts at

Cheryl has got me into this Hanne and no it doesn't need anything more that finger pressing. Just give one block a try with some scraps and see if you like it.

Dee in Oz

Hanne Gottliebsen wrote:

Unless you have an unusually long extension cord, you're not going to be able to do much pressing while traveling anyway. I have a cute little wooden tool that does an admirable job of pressing when something more than finger-pressing is needed. A hard flat surface such as a book would do just fine for your traveling ironing board if you're only using the wooden tool for pressing. I just looked in the Clotilde catalog so I could tell you the tool's name but it isn't there. Maybe I found it at Nancy's Notions. Polly

Hi Hanne,

I too handpiece when I'm away from the machine, and in many ways I find it more relaxing than machine piecing, albeit much slower. However, as you pointed out, when you're away from your machine you are also away from the iron. I came across a tip in a quilting magazine years ago--can't remember which one--that talked about a technique called finger ironing (or something similar). Anyway, the idea is to turn the fabric as you would for regular ironing, but then use your thumb and index finger and run it firmly over the fold. I know it sounds weird, but it actually works well enough in most cases that you can keep on piecing.

I hope I've explained it well enough.

Mine is called 'Little Wooden Iron'

I've got one of these - I (sometimes) use it for FPP.

The consensus seems to (firmly) be that I can press whenever (as in later) or not at all.

Thanks, everyone!

Hanne in London

polly esther wrote:

I've cut a bunch of 2.5" squares, making each block 6" square (finished). Haven't decided on a finished size, but not small :-) And before you all say that I should have tried a few before cutting a whole bunch: I can always revert to machine piecing if it turns out I don't like the hand piecing afterall :-)

It is scrappy (kind of), so I cut 9 squares of each (for the ones where I had enough fabric, for the others I'm going to pair with something of similar colour/value).

Hanne in London

(scroll down for two other versions) Icy pole sticks (popsicle sticks? - sold in bags of a couple of hundred in craft stores here) will do almost the same. We draw smiley faces on ours ;-)) lol

The wood in the sticks is so soft it can be trimmed to a wedge/point shape at one end and used to help guide seam allowances right under the needle. If the needle does hit it - no damage!

Me too!

Let me know when you find it.

Ooh, you glutton for punishment, you! Piecing 9-patches! Well, it has the great advantage of being completely mindless, and therefore very soothing.

9-patches are usually 5 dark and 4 light, or vice versa, so your seams can always press to the darker side. Just finger press (or bring along a little wooden butter knife to save your fingernails) by running your thumbnail over the seam against a hard surface. Then heat press all of them when you get back to your ironing board.

If you want to be really finicky, you can carefully clip each intersection along the 2 row-joining seams, cutting just the lighter squares on each side of the intersection. Then press the seams to the dark sides; the actual intersections will be pressed open. Roberta in D

"Hanne Gottliebsen" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news:eg0k4j$f10$1@qmul...

I tend to use the little wooden iron only when Fppiecing. I love it - it has grown very smooth. However, I love the sound of the little roller. I bet they are cheaper in the painting and decorating shop!! . In message , KJ writes

Polly & all, In a pinch you can use 1/2 of a spring type clothespin for a wooden pressing iron. Good backup when your real one hides from you. Anna Belle in Palm Bay