Pressing your seams open is good for a lot of things, including precise piecing. Here are 3 reasons why:

'Bias' is a dirty word in quilting. I'm always amazed at the lengths quilters go to avoid working with a bias edge. This usually means a lot of extra steps and a LOT of extra work that is at distinct odds with my lazy quilting mentality. It's MUCH easier to just learn to manage the bias stretch. With some easy habits and some practice, you too can master those tricky bias edges. Here are 12 tips to manage the stretch. What is a bias edge? First thing's first, if you're not fa

The 4th and final section of this series is all about alignment methods: How to get those perfect points. Assuming you've cut, sewn, and pressed relatively accurately, this is the easy part. However, if you haven't cut, sewn, and pressed accurately, all is not lost. I'll be showing where and how to match points to get those perfect intersections every time. FYI: This post is part of a monthly series on precise piecing. If you haven't read Parts 1-3, make sure to check those

Learn how to press properly so you don't undo all your efforts achieving precise cutting and sewing.

This month's post is all about sewing precise seams; the second most important element of precision piecing. Almost all quilt patterns rely on a consistent 1/4" seam. Pieces are cut and sized perfectly to accommodate this assumption. But what happens when that assumption is no longer true? Well, things can start to get a little wacky. This is especially true when it comes to more complicated patterns such as those involving smaller pieces, non-90- or 45-degree angles, or wher

Maybe you've heard about it before, or even know what it is, but have never actually sat down and calibrated your scant 1/4" seam allowance. This tutorial will take you through that process step-by-step so you're sewing perfectly accurate scant 1/4" quilting seams. If you've never heard of a scant 1/4" seam, you can read more about what it is and why it's so important for accurate piecing here . First things first: some ground rules There are a couple of really important thin

Don't you just love it when your points come together perfectly on the first try? It's not critical, but when it happens, it just gives you that little extra jolt of excitement and you feel like a boss! The only problem is that consistently getting precise points usually means slowing down a lot and doing a bunch of extra starching, trimming, and often seam ripping steps all of which zap the fun out of quilting. We'd all love perfect points every time, but the "lazy quilter"

While perfect points aren't necessary for a beautiful quilt, it's extra nice when everything lines up seamlessly. The best tip I have to achieve perfect points is the hang-pin technique. You may know it as the standing pin technique or a positioning pin; it goes by many names. I use it any time there are two points within blocks or units that I want to just kiss each other; no gap or blunting of the points. Read all the way to the end; the most important information is last!