how to paper piece

Carol Doak specializes in paper piecing and has great instructions on her website. There are other places you can go to find out this information. Try Googling paper piecing instructions and you should have more information then you will need to get started. There are many patterns (along with pp instructions on

I am terrible at the technique, even after taking a class. I would never commit to making a whole quilt with pping, but have participated in swaps where I did a few blocks in this manner.

Good luck!

Foundation piecing is the second, Martha. . In message , Martha writes

The "other", which most of us mean when we talk about paper piecing, is "foundation pp". The English kind requires you to baste fabric over paper templates and sew by hand. Good for hexagons and such. The foundation kind has you trace or print the whole block design on a sheet of paper or other stiff foundation, then line up the fabric patches one at a time and sew just as if you were piecing a block on the machine, except you do it through the paper and sew on the line. It's a great way to get really pointy angles. As a first attempt, I'd recommend something like square in a square. Roberta in D

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My strongest suggestions are to make sure the block is big instead of small, with a few pieces instead of many, and to use the biggest needle you can possibly manage. This will perforate the paper better and make it easier to tear off without doing damage to the seams. If you have a lock stitch on your machine it's good to use it at both ends of each seam.

I made a paper-pieced flower basket wall hanging and while it looks nice it was a bad choice for the first time. I ended up having to repair several of the seams after I removed the paper, which proved to be the hardest part of the whole thing. Even with a big needle mine didn't want to tear right and I used the stuff that came with the pattern. The seams in my blocks were short and there were far too many for a first-timer.

I'd like to do it again some time but it will take me a while to recover.

Trisha in MO view my quilts:

To add a tiny bit to Trisha's note: if you make a lock stitch, or a reverse stitch, it is a good idea to make it just before (one stitch) and just after the point of intersection of the sewing lines. This makes for a 'lump free' centre. . In message , trisha f writes

the trick is short stitches, not necessarily a big needle, I didn't use a lock stitch, though the by the time I removed the paper all of the ends had been sewn over in a different direction. The paper didn't just fall out, but it was pretty easy.

Anne

As others have said, Carol Doak

is the "queen" of foundation paper piecing. She has several free patterns on her web site, as well as a DVD that's invaluable for learning how to do it with excellent results. Carol also has several books available -- you can get those from her web site, also, or order them from Amazon or another online bookstore. For a first block, I'd give "Introduction to Paper Piecing", which is about three pics down on , a try. The photo shows four of them put together, but you could try just one to get a feel for it, if you preferred. Use a #90/14 needle and a small stitch length to make getting the paper off easier at the end.

What Sandy said. I tried Quilter's Cache first and about gave up on paper piecing until I watched how Carol does it. Now I'm hooked.

hey Anne, when its all sewn and time to remove the paper, gently tug the block on the diagonal both ways, this loosens up some of the papers at the seams. also lay a damp tea towel on it for a few minutes, wet paper comes away easier. oh yea, sew past the end of each seam line a few stitches to lock it in the next seam. then the last pieces on the outside of a block you can sew right over the edge. you sew these PP blocks from the middle out to the edges, adding 1 piece of fabric at a time. trim each seam line correctly as you to and press each one each time too. thats bout all my thots on it, for now, lol.

heres a link of a slideshow on how to paper piece.

click on this to go back and forth within the 19 different pix shown.it shows a sq in sq block, easy peasy, good to start easy til ya figure itout. PP is done in reverse, sewing on the lines 'exactly' from the back side, so the fabric is on the back as you sew...sounds odd but once you get your head round that bit, the possibilitys are endless. having an 'add a 1/4' or 'add an 1/8' inch rulers are handy for trimming the seams the correct size. smaller one is for smaller blocks or ones with heaps of seams in them. heres one on 'make your own PP design'. as someone already said, has gazillion PP blocks . heres all the PP websites i've got in favourites at the moment, fwiw. someone might find one of them useful. all checked to be still working when i typed this. blocks on all those sites and the last one has more patterns to buy butwill give you ideas on making your own. ;) if you join the carol doak yahoo group there are a bunch of free blocks onthere too. and her website hasall the rulers and other notions she uses, she is the Queen of PP iirc, lol.http://www.caroldoak.com/ NAYYand last but not least, this one might be useful when you get round toconsidering you're own designs... has EPP info and some simple designs to try. this is good as a take along fairly mindless hand piecing project, also good to use up scraps if you like doing scrappy designs. well all that ought to keep ya busy most of the day. :) do show us pix of your blocks as you make them. we live vicariously, well i do. cheers from groggy me in the south pacific, jeanne

Martha, the book I would highly recommend is "Show Me How To Paper Piece". This book includes paper patterns for 16(?) hearts, to make the small hanging on the cover. Large photos for each step and very easy to follow. This was probably the best intro before the DVD by Carol. However, unless you have a TV and DVD player in the sewing room, the book may be easier to have at hand.

Have fun, learning Paper Foundation Piecing/Foundation Paper Piecing is great fun and the only way to easily and accurately do some blocks. BTW, don't worry too much about size of the block, it is the size and angle of the pieces to learn about.

Pati, > >

As usual, this group has been so much great help!

I shall run right out [well, after it stops snowing on Wednesday] and buy a Carol Doak book, and I shall archive all the good advice.

Thanks so much everyone!

Martha

Martha, I'd recommend one of her latest books (Simply Sensational

9-Patch Stars, for example, is a good one), primarily because they come with two huge advantages. First, they have a CD included with the actual patterns so that you can print them out numerous times -- if you like -- on your home printer. Second, they also have the instructions on how to determine the size of the pieces to cut, as well as the size of each piece included in the book, if you print at the "default" size. Both of those little gems are well worth their weight in gold!

I recently bought not just Carol's book, but the DVD too. There's a package called the Deluxe Paper Piecing Starter Kit which has the DVD, Sensational

9-Patch Stars book, packet of paper and an Add-a-Quarter ruler. Seemed like good value to me. The DVD is great, especially for visual learners, as you can just watch her actually do it. I liked her method and found it easy.

Here's a link to the kit:

Scroll down to the end of the books section. Have fun!