Paper piecing question

In a short answer ....no..

Have you tried one of Carol Doaks Free Patterns ?

Dee in Oz

No - it really doesn't matter if you leave the paper on until after the quilt is assembled. If it is a large block with lots of off grain pieces, I will sometimes stay stitch 1/8" inside the seam allowance.

L>I thought I would try this again. The other two tries were total

I would say on any "interior" pieces.... it isn't a big deal. You'll "close in" those seams with new seams and your piece will be stable.

But if you have any large pieces on the outside edge of your block, you should try to keep straight of grain on those. If you have exposed bias on the outside edges of your block, be extra careful removing the paper. Also, your block will be susceptible to all the regular problems exposed bias has on the OUTSIDE edge of the block.

Do remember to use a much shorter, tighter stitch length for paper piecing to make removing the paper an easier task. Also, remember that on the OUTSIDE edges of your block, you can sew into the seam allowance. Only on the INTERIOR pieces do you need to start and stop precisely on the lines and intersections.

Kathryn Groves

uhh, i could well be wrong but if you stop and start exactly on the intersections, are you not likely to have 'holes' later, specially if/when you tug the diagonal to remove paper.

i always overlap a couple of stitches and so far its worked fine for me. as long as i dont stitch more than 1/4" past the intersection. havent had dinner yet and i'm no pro at paper piecing either but i'd be a bit worried bout that. most happy to be corrected if'n i'm doing it wrong, wouldnt be the first time. jeanne

I think you're right Jeanne, I've never come across a pattern where you'd need to start at the exact point for it to work. I can't even think of an instance where it make pressing easier either. The whole thing that determines whether or not a design can be paper pieced is whether or not you can find an order of sewing that means when a seam is sown, all the seams that intersect with it have already been sewn and that's exactly the same as not needing to stop and start at the point.

Anne

Just a note about shorter stitches: yes, they do help in removing the paper; but they make unpicking anything fiendishly difficult. My usual stitch length would be 2.5, for example, and I use 2 for FPP. I also (and this is the way I was taught and something which is now ingrained - I wouldn't say it was a rule, at all!) do a reverse stitch at the beginning and end of every seam, BUT the single reverse stitch is made before and after the seam length. So, I put my needle down into the precise point and then do one reverse stitch. Works for me >g< . In message , Kate G. writes snipped

The broad answer would be 'no', Debra; but the exception would be if you are using a fabric with a clearly directional pattern. You might have to fussy cut those - one reason why I never use stripes in FPP! too fiddly (and I am not one who usually avoids 'fiddly'!!) .

In message , Debra writes

That's what I do, too, inc. the 2.5 stitch length because unpicking s such a pain otherwise..*but* before placing the fabric on the paper, I make several 'bends' on the paper, right at the stitch line, and press the bends down using my fingernail. This weakens the paper on that line, and helps with paper removal later.

-Irene

When I took a class from Carol Doak, she told us to stitch beyond the intersection for a quarter-inch or so.

Julia > uhh, i could well be wrong but if you stop and start exactly on the > intersections,