suggestion - take some scrap fabric and try it with and without pressing.

(like I just noticed Tartan replied)

when I first started, I would not press every seam ...once i started to do so I found my quilts looked and laid so much better. It's not a step that I ever skip any more!

I always press, not iron, the seams and it certainly makes a difference in accuracy. It's your quilt --!

I find l'm more accurate with nesting if l do not press untill the section/ block is together. I do press each finished block, as l may wish to trim, or need to verify size.

I am told by the ones whom I in awe of in quilting: you starch heavy and cut precise and press each block. It makes a big difference in the final quilt. If I want precise piecing and in the top, I follow that rule. Otherwise, I try to be precise in cutting, hand pressing, and then pressing each finished 6 inch block. Most patterns give instruction on which way to press each seam. In demonstrating, Jenny and Eleanor Burns are trying to move quickly through the video anyway they can to quickly show the finished project. I have noticed on cooking channels, they do that also. In my profession as a librarian, our consultants would do the same thing, saying, "if this is not comfortable for you to do, do it your way!" and I was silently screaming , "NO!" "Do it the right, the precise, scientific way!" Library Science was a pure science, but others often took short cuts and did their way, not the right way.

If its worth doing, do it right the first time. Or try , try again. That is why I have several rippers handy to my sewing machine, and I use them very often.

After watching many JD tutorials, I see a lot of things in them that most people wouldn't do in their own sewing room. Having limited time to make her videos may have something to do with the apparent shortcuts she takes sometimes. This is not a bad thing. When she tapes her tutes, her own accuracy may not be "perfect" from our point of view. Her focus is to show us how to do something and not how to be perfect. Her style and instructions come across well.

As for not pressing 1/4" seams. As long as they nest well, you should be fine. press carefully at the end of completing the block.

consider the techniques used before there were modern irons and sewing machines. Quilts were probably never pressed during construction except for finger pressing. Just a thought.

peace

Like others have said when doing a video you have a certain amount of time to do it.

Always - your quilt your way. Do the steps however you want.

i am not a fan of trying to learn from videos but i realize it's the wave of the future.

one of the many things that drive me batty about them is the fact that people who are famous for being experts rush through the steps and churn out slop we're supposed to perceive as good examples.
i think that's a great dis-service to new quilters. since a great many of these "teachers" are hawking products and hoping to boost sales i think they owe it to the viewers to do it right.

i have seen only one video "teacher" take her time to thoroughly explain each step. most importantly - she stops when she has made a mistake. she explains how the mistake happened, how to fix it, and how to avoid it in the future. i wish i could remember her name.

I will admit that I am a little OCD so I press nearly everything...

I press, press, press. I have to admit that I cringe when seeing finished quilts and they look like nothing was pressed.