I join 2 patches together to form a segment
For each segment, with wrong side facing up, I press the seam allowances in 1 direction
In the example shown in Diagram 1, I pressed the seam allowances towards the print fabric
Then I turn the segments right side up and press again along the join (Diagram 2), ensuring that there is no overhang along the join (Diagram 3)
When I press right side up, I make sure that I press the seam allowances in the same direction that I pressed with wrong side up
If there is an overhang along the join, a pleat will be formed, making 1 patch the incorrect size
In the example shown in Diagram 3, the dark patch is larger than the light patch
I join 2 segments together to form a block
For each block, with wrong side facing up, I press the seam allowances in 1 direction
In the example shown in Diagram 4, I pressed the last sewn seam allowance towards the right
I was careful not to disturb the seam allowances of each segment pressed in Step 1
Then I turn the block right side up and press again along the join (Diagram 5), ensuring that there is no overhang along the join (Diagram 6)
When I press right side up, I make sure that I press the join in the same direction that I pressed with wrong side up
If there is overhang along the join, a pleat will be formed and the block size will be incorrect (Diagram 7)
I unpick the 2 or 3 stitches that extend past the last sewn seam within the seam allowance
In Diagram 8, the Quick Unpick is pointing towards the stitches unpicked in this example
To swirl press seam allowances, I reverse the direction of 1 of the 4 seam allowances that I pressed in Step 2
In this example, I reversed the direction of the bottom half of the centre seam as shown by the arrow in Diagram 9
I carefully re-press that seam only so as not to disturb the seam allowances pressed under the previous steps
Then I press open the centre only with the point of the iron
This creates the swirl and the centre will turn into a tiny 4-patch
In the example shown in Diagram 10, I pressed in an anti- clockwise direction so that the seams appear to chase each other
Then I turn the block right side up and press from the front along the join (Diagram 11), ensuring that there is no overhang along the join (Diagram 6 and Diagram 7 above)
I join all of my blocks together to form my quilt top
With the wrong side facing up, I swirl press all of the joining seam allowances, alternating the direction of the swirl press (Diagram 12)
Then I turn the quilt top right side up and press again along the joins (Diagram 13) ensuring that there is no overhang along the joins (Diagram 6 and Diagram 7 above)
Your work will be beautifully flat (Diagram 14)
