Paper Piecing

Tips for Paper Piecing

The Pattern

You will notice that the pattern faces right side up. That seems like an obvious statement, and may have no meaning. I’m about to give it some (meaning, that is).

It would be really nice if the pattern were on the back of the paper, then you could sew on the lines on the paper. The way it is set up, you will place your fabric on the front of the paper, which is blank. Most quilters sew on the back following the lines printed on the paper.

Remember, if you use the printed lines as sewing guides on the back of the paper, your finished piece will be the REVERSE of the pattern as it is printed. This may not be a problem. But for the US flag, if I had placed the fabric on the unprinted side and sewn from the back, the blue star section would have been on the right side of the postcard, not on the left where I wanted it.

You could sew on the front, following the seam allowances created by the fabric. If you’re anything like I am, the sewing line won’t match the printed line. And, well, you’ll have to figure out what to do about that. Depending on how “off” it is, your finished piece will be a different size. That might not make a difference.

So, alternatives – you could draw sewing lines on the back of the paper. If you have a light table to show the lines through the paper, that is ideal. Or, you could hold the paper up on a window and trace the lines through. Or, your eyes could be good enough to see through the paper.

Another alternative is to sew from the back (that would mean that your fabric is under the paper as you sew on your machine), and use earlier sewing lines as a guide.

Copying the Pattern

Always make foundation piecing copies from the original design to ensusre that your finished quilt will be the right size. Check the accuracy of your copy against the original. Sometimes copy machines change the size slightly.

Paper

Little did I know that there is special paper for this. (I should have know, though!) Anyway, if you have the special paper, sounds like that is the way to go. If you don’t, you could use computer paper (that’s what I used – right from my computer printer), or they say newsprint is the best. It tears away easily and is easy to sew through.

Sewing Machine Needle and Stitch Length

If you use a large needle (#80/12 or #80/14), your holes will be bigger, and the paper will be easier to tear away. Likewise, if you shorten your stitch length to 15-20 stitches per inch, you will have more holes, and the paper will tear away easier.

You may also want to use an open-toed presser foot so you can see better when you are sewing.

Fabric

Precut your fabric and label each piece with its location number to keep them organized.

Sewing on the bias is not such a problem in paper piecing because the paper tends to stabilize the fabric. However, you probably want to avoid having a bias edge on the outside of your postcard.

You may want to cut larger than normal pieces of fabric. I cut my fabric using a normal “quilters” ¼.” I would have had more flexibility if I had cut an extra ¼ or ½.” You can always trim it once the piece is finished

Sewing

Always start with the piece that is marked #1. The spaces are actually marked according to the order in which you should sew them for the best results – maybe the only results!

Place the #1 fabric piece right side up and secure in some fashion – possibly a dab of paper or fabric glue or a pin or two.

Now place the #2 fabric piece right side DOWN on top of piece #1. Make sure that your fabric pieces extend over the seam lines printed on the paper. Secure this piece onto fabric piece #1.

Sew the two pieces in place. General wisdom says to sew from the back. If you have sewing lines, that is a good idea. Refer to the discussion above in “The Pattern” to see your alternatives. Once sewn, you can trim your seam allowances to ¼.”

Open the seam, and finger press the seam open.

Add #3 fabric piece in the same way you added #2 – right sides together on top of fabric piece #2. Secure in place and then sew, trim and open the seam. Continue following those steps until your pattern is complete.

Once your piece is complete, tear away the paper. If you are making several blocks (not a fabric postcard), you may decide to leave the paper on until all of your paper pieced blocks are done and your quilt top is sewn together. That’s a discussion for a different day, and different website!

Other Tips

Keep your threads trimmed or you will end up with a tangled mess. Since the fabric pieces are small, there are a lot of seams.

A hot iron may cause the ink on your paper to bleed through to the fabric. If you use 100% cotton, you may not need to press your fabric with an iron – finger pressing might be enough to keep your fabric where it needs to be.

Practice makes perfect. These pieces are small, and it is easy to get things out of line. Feel free to rip the seams out – I ripped at least two seams on my flag postcard. Or toss it and start over.

Trim your blocks exactly 1/4" from the outside sewing line. This makes sewing them together easier.

Machine baste the beginning, end, and any critical points to ensure that the blocks match.

Stitch the seams of the blocks using small stitches.

Happy Quilting!

Penny Halgren
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