Do you ever look at all of those seams and wonder how can I make them not so bulky. . You can reduce bulk in your seams with this one simple trick – fan your quilt seam allowances and produce flatter, smoother quilt tops.

Multiple layers can be an issue where several seams converge in one spot when piecing a quilt top. Those areas can be a challenge for both hand quilters and machine quilters. If you have ever hand quilted you know how difficult it can be to get a needle through bulky spots. When you hand quilt you often plan your stitching lines in order to avoid those spots, but that limits design choices. This is not a big an issue for machine quilters.

Fanning your seams is a process of spreading out the fabric where several seams come together. It can make a big difference in the ease of quilting and in how good the quilt looks when it is finished.

Fanning seams may take a little longer, but it’s well worth the effort. Watch this “Babylock” video for a complete tutorial.