The legendary Georgia Bonesteel shared this piecing tip with me during our recent fiber group's retreat. No wonder she's been honored in the Quilter's Hall of Fame and received International Quilt Festival's Silver Star Award!
This trick helps to reduce bulk when sewing rows of blocks together.Sew the blocks into rows......and rather than pressing the vertical seams toward the dark or all in one directions as I was taught to do, Georgia recommends staggering the seams.....press the first one for instance one way and the next block's seam in the opposite direction....continue to the end of the row.
In the lower block (with the gray center) pictured above you can see how the vertical seam allowance is pressed in in opposite directions.
When the blocks of the next row is pieced, press these seams in the same manner, but in opposite directions as the row above. Then when the horizontal seam is stitched (as seen above just below my thumb) go back and pick out those two or three vertical stitches that fall within the seam allowance.
Open the seams of the intersection....it will form a small patchwork and allow the bulk of these 4 seam allowances to lay flatter since it spreads out the bulk.
Cool!!! Thank you Georgia!
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