C’mon A-Team fans, you recognize that line from Hannibal, the mastermind behind the renegade sect of Vietnam veterans perpetrating good works in the US of A, much to the chagrin of state-side law enforcement. 
Seriously though, that’s the feeling of satisfaction I get when patchwork comes together so nicely. Take the block above – from the back side you can see how well every unit nestles beautifully with its neighbor. Notice how all the seam allowances lock and fan from the centers of each intersection. Nice.
I like to fan the seams of a 4-patch unit and do so whenever I can, even when the 4-patch is part of a larger block. When the seam allowances are fanned, they are less bulky. Less bulky seams make for an overall flatter finished top, and that makes for a happy quilter!
To fan the centers, I open the unit right-side down and position the longest seam horizontally. One half of the seam allowance will go one way, and the other side will go in the opposite direction. You will know which way the seam allowances will naturally want to go; use your fingers to partially crease the new direction of the seam allowances from the front and back of the patchwork. Often times the stitches in the center of the seam will pop out in order for the center to lay flat, but occasionally you’ll have to pick out the first stitch or two in order to get it completely flat. For the final step, I press the unit from the front and back.
For the block above, I assembled four 4-patch units, fanning the centers of each as I completed them. When I joined two of the 4-patches together, I noticed I could also fan the seam allowances of the new seam. I did the same for the other half of the block and when the time came to join the two halves together, every seam nestled nicely with its counterpart. And lastly, I fanned the final seam allowances and gave the completed block a good pressing.
Don’t you love it when a plan comes together?