Paper Piecing by hand???

I have done this, using tracing paper, which is very very thin, and very small stitches. I have done a couple of Dear Jane blocks this way. The triangles lend themselved to paper piecing a lot- and it does seem logical to me. If you don't have tracing paper, look for water soluble stabilizer, and use that. Then you can just wash the paper away.

Try a small piece first and see if it works okay for you.

Otherwise, try English paper piecing. You may like that style, and it's best done by hand and brought along.

-georg

EPP was my thot too, georg, gmta, eh. i love doing EPP for dresden sections, some of the flowers i make and various other designs work as well. have fun, jeanne

English paper piecing? Guess I gotta Gooooooogle that one.

~KK in BC~ who has no water soluble paper nor any tracing paper..... I do have muslin and meat wrapping paper though...

dang. I was afraid of that answer LOL

~KK in BC~ needing a quilty idea to haul with her

I want to know if the coffee cup patterns are available online somewhere?

any paper will do for EPP. i use old envelopes if thats all i got. recycling paper is good too. as long as its not too thin, it needs some body to it so the shape holds up when you pull that thread thru it. its easy peasy, not to worry, you CAN do this. check

for info/projects on EPP. just one site out there with info/pix on it, not the be all and end all, lol. hth, jeanne NAYY

Your question made me think of those little hand held sewing machine that are used to sew things in an emergency. I've never used one but it might be kinda fun now that you've brought this up.

Anyone ever try one of the little hand sewing machine?

Donna in WA

heres a couple of PP freebies.

(cup and cupcake there, lol) well tis a start anyhow, easy enough to draft one of your own once you understand how the number system on this method works.hth, jeanne

Well, just try experimenting with what ye have! Play until you can figure out what to take with you.

-georg

It's tough thru paper but you can transfer or trace or print your foundations on muslin and then piece to the muslin. The muslin stays in the quilt. When I do that I tend to spray size or starch the muslin cause I find it a bit easier to work with. You can also machine foundation piece to muslin. I started the blocks for a quilt by hand on muslin and when I got back home I finished the last few on the machine.

If you get one of those transfer pens and mark over the lines printed on a paper foundation, you should be able to get 3-5 transfers from one marking. Just remember you are getting the mirror image when you transfer to muslin.

Ellen

Try tracing the pattern onto that cheap light weight sew in interfacing used by dressmakers. It has a bit more "stiffness" than some muslins so it's easier to trace onto, and it doesn't have to be removed. Print your foundation and tape it to your table/board/whatever. Then put the interface over the drawing and tape at the corners. I found it easier to draw on than the fabric. We use that in our Manx Blocks very successfully, and they are sewn with only a medium running stitch.

heeeeeeeeey I have one of those!! I didn't even think about that thing! To be honest I have never used it and am not sure how to make it work, but I have one! LOL

That would solve the boredom though now wouldn't it......hmmm....

~KK in BC~ gonna go diggin'

rarely use msg'r? KK, i just added you to my contact list fwiw, lol. so might find ya online, eh. jeanne

I have saved a great pdf file on English Paper Piecing. If you try Googling Debbie Beaves and or Grandmothers Flower Garden and/or

there were some excellent instructuions there

HTH

Dee in Oz

Dare I say, iron your muslin to freezer paper in sizes that'll fit in your printer and then print em off!

mutter...mutter...always think before hitting send ....mutter....snarl.....

then just peel the freezer paper off!

I almost always paper piece by hand, using a backstitch so that the stitches are extra firm when I remove the paper. I always use Stitch'Tear (can't afford the soluable stuff) and trace the pattern onto it. I have a session doing all the tracing (well until I get bored!) at one go, so that its all over and done with. Stitch 'nTear is easily removed if you lightly score the back with something like the back of an unpicker.. It feels stiff to start with, but after a bit of handling it goes quite soft.

I've also used the lightest of interfacings and a very very light cotton which of course you can't remove, hence the need for the finest you can find.

I find the only problem when travelling is the mess you can easily make with the little bits you trim off. Your hosts may not be happy having to sweep the carpet yet again!

Personally, for travelling I think that the English Patchwork is the least messy - you can cut lots of the templates beforehand, and a pile of suitable fabric 'shapes' all ready cut to size, so all you have to do is baste them to the papers, and then stitch them together - no messy cutting and trimmings, and you don't have to spread your work out to place the bits like you do in applique.

You could use freezer paper but that would be more pre-planning. Old Christmas and birthday cards made good foundations for English Patchwork and you can use up lots of scraps that way.

-- Sally at the Seaside~~~~~~~

I like the manila folders that they throw away at the office. They are perfect.