Paper Piecing Art: Beginner & Beyond, a STITCHED 2012 Workshop 

I'm so glad you found it helpful. Welcome to my channel and happy sewing!

You're so welcome! I hope you really enjoy your future projects. Happy stitching!

Glad it was helpful! Have a lovely day. :)

My pleasure, Esther, I'm so glad you found it useful. Happy stitching!

Well, thank you! :D

Cherri, that is wonderful to hear! I'm always pleased to know my tutorials are helpful. Happy piecing! ♥

Janet, I am so happy you found it useful! ♥

Hi, Elaine. Thank you! I really hope you enjoy the process.

You are so welcome! I'm delighted that you found the tutorial so helpful and I very much hope you enjoy your new adventures in paper piecing!

Valerie Headrick My pleasure! Thank you for commenting. :)

Thank you, Marilyn, I'm so glad you found it useful. Happy piecing!

Paper piecing is a bit like magic, which is one of the reasons I think I love it so much. Thanks for leaving a comment, that always makes my day!

+mrspower Thank you so much for saying so! I am thrilled to know it's been so useful to you. :)

You're so welcome, I am pleased you found it helpful. Happy sewing!

+Sadie Long Thank you, Sadie, happy piecing! :)

That is so kind of you! This is an older project, so if you're looking for more, I also have lots of free patterns on my website, sewhooked.com. Happy stitching!

I'm so pleased you found it useful. Happy stitching!

My pleasure, Eileen! ♥

I'm so pleased you found it useful. Happy stitching!

My pleasure!

My pleasure, thank you, Faye! ♥

You are so welcome! Best of luck on your Cinco de Mayo quilt! ♥

I'm glad you enjoyed it! Happy paper piecing. :)

You're so welcome! I hope you enjoy the process as much as I do. 😊

+Mindy Gooding Thank you, Mindy, that's very kind of you to say! Good luck with the QAL. The Farmer's Wife blocks are wonderful!

I am very happy to hear that! Good luck with your project. :)

My pleasure!

I am so glad you found it useful and hope you and your friend enjoy paper piecing. Happy stitching!

My pleasure! If you ever need to find this video again, you can find it on my personal website (sewhooked.com) under About Paper Piecing and on fandominstitches.com under Tutorials. Happy stitching!

I'm glad you found it useful. :)

I'm so glad to hear that you found it helpful! :)

Thanks, Cynthia! It's been so long since I originally filmed this (2011!), that it has been a pleasant surprise to have such a positive response so far. :)

This is surely going to bring more attention to paper pircing and to you. The way you put it together was clear and consise and felt like a one on one sewing session.

Cynthia Prater That's what I was going for Cynthia, so I'm extra glad to hear that it felt very one-on-one.

You're so welcome, I'm pleased you found it helpful!

My pleasure! :)

My pleasure! I'm so glad you found it useful. :)

+Cathy Shirey Thank you, I do hope you find it helpful. :)

Hi, Claudia. Thank you so much for the lovely comment! To make your block 12 1/2", you can add a border: 1 1/2" strips on top and bottom, 2 1/2" strips on the sides. I also have a couple more free tree patterns on my website (look under Free Pattern Archive on sewhooked.com), and you are more than welcome to use any of them. I'm also working on quilts to send to Australia. ♥

@@sewhookedjen Thank you! I'm headed to your website right now! I'm thinking of adding more "grass" to the bottom. I found a fabric that has Matilija poppies on it. These flowers are common in Southern California. They're quite meaningful too: they resist the fires. For me, they're a symbol of beauty, strength, and resilience. I crocheted 500 of them to gift to anyone who were impacted by the Thomas fire in 2017.

Just finished piecing the fandominstitches.com Hocus Pocus quilt in time for Halloween!

Thanks! 😊

Thanks!

+Touche Rebelle My pleasure, thank you for commenting! :)

It's my pleasure, I'm so glad you found my video useful. :) You can grade those bulky areas by trimming them on an angle or trimming the different layers at different widths, depending on what the pattern needs. I use a small pair of sharp scissors whenever I need to do that. In some cases, you can also press seams open instead of to one side. Play with it and see what works best for you. Happy sewing!

bobbie rankin, thank you, I hope you give it a try!

Hi, Lois. I design in EQ8. The pattern in this video was designed in an earlier version of the software. There is also a free software called Quilt Assistant that many of my designer friends enjoy using. I hope that helps!

@@sewhookedjen Thanks so much..

Diana Onofre My pleasure!

Hi there! Welcome to the wonderful world of paper piecing! I generally prefer to leave the paper on until the block is pieced into its final location. That will ensure that stretchy bias edges are stitched into place before you pull the paper out. It helps to avoid stretching those edges out of shape. You can also stitch around the outside edge of your block and then remove the paper before it is added to your project. Once you've done it for a while, you'll definitely have a preference and whatever you choose to do is absolutely okay as long as it works for you. I hope that helps! Happy stitching.

Hi, Barbara. Double check your settings when you print the document and make sure it's set to print at 100% or No Scaling. As long as you're printing at 100%, your pattern will be just the right size. Happy stitching!

+tzoken729 I use regular printer paper, usually recycled. I always recommend using whatever works best for you. I am so sorry to hear about your loss.

Hmm. Try to always work from the same corner, such as always choosing a bottom or top corner for your alignment pin. If the printed pattern is skewed a bit (a sadly unavoidable problem with most printers), the pinning can really help with that. If you keep having issues like that, please send me a couple of photos (sewhooked at gmail) and I'll see if I can help you figure out what's happening.

I wonder if I've perhaps been pinning too much and that's causing the bottom section to shift-- I'm going to try a couple of things with my next block (more accurate 1/4" seam allowances and less pinning), and see if that helps...

Hi, Stacey! I'm so glad you found my video useful! I personally like recycled printer paper, but there are definitely more options. Some quilters like to print their patterns on newsprint or tracing paper because it's more delicate and easier to remove. The only downside to that can be if you're working on something very intricate because the paper can start falling off. Some quilters like water-soluble stabilizer, which does work, but it can get pricey to use. Whenever I teach a new student, I always give them options and recommend they try them all to find what works best for them! Happy sewing!

Thank you!!!

JediMasterMatt, yep, the process is the same. I do recommend trimming a bit more for smaller piecing. Once you've practiced the technique, you'll be able to tackle any paper pieced pattern.

Hi Dela, Shrinkage is a fairly common problem with paper piecing. It's usually caused by the actual printing process, either because the printer isn't 100% accurate or because scaling needs to be turned off before printing. There's usually an option to "print at 100%" or "no scaling" or similar that will print the pattern at actual size. It's always a good idea to double check that setting. All of my newer patterns include a 1" scale, and I'm slowly adding them to my older patterns as well. If the pattern you're using does have a scale, you can measure the scale before piecing to ensure it will be the correct size. When stitching block units together, it's best to use the 1/4" allowed because changing that could change the way the pattern itself turns out when the different parts come together. If you're working on a pattern like the one in this video, you can simply wait until the end to square up your block and add the small amount needed to make it the correct size. This becomes much more of an issue if you're working on something geometric that is intended to interlock. In that case, the more accurate the pattern is printed, the better. I hope that helps! Thanks so much for your question. If there's anything else I can do to help, don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks, Jennifer, I will check all of your suggestions out. I do know that my home printer does print "off" a bit, so I took the pattern to the local staples and they printed it. They told me the distortion (even though it was minimal, it was still evident) from my printer is due to how the paper is pulled over the roller...it actually sort of stretches the paper. I was thinking more about the scant 1/4 " vs the regular 1/4" and the folding back of the piece when pressing. I will need to work on the squaring up process at the end. lol Thanks again! ps yours is the best video I have ever viewed....and I view a lot of them:)

Oh, how interesting to know that can happen! The seam allowance when you're piecing the units should not change the size of your actual block, but give it a try. I'd love to know if it helps! If you're ever using one of my patterns and it doesn't have a scale on it, let me know and I'll add one. I have so many, sometimes I don't know when I've missed one!

Hi Bethany! I'm always glad to know something I've shared has been helpful, so thanks for that! When I say to take a couple of stitches, I just mean to start stitching a bit before the line and continue a bit after. If you do that that, those couple of stitches will be locked in when you sew across them.

Jennifer Ofenstein Thank you!

Hi, Jodie. Almost every paper pieced pattern you find will already be numbered. Is that the information you needed?

Hi, Sue. One of the websites I'm part of, Fandom in Stitches, has some design resources that may help. You can find them here: www.fandominstitches.com/2011/06/hey-there-designer.html

I design in EQ. They have a channel here on RU-vid with loads of information on how to use their software. Have a great weekend!

Hi, Cynthia. Once you get the rhythm of paper piecing, finding the beginning will be fairly easy. If you are in any quilting groups online or in real life, I am sure they can give you a hand, too. Happy stitching!

Good idea, I have to look it up for sharing all the time. :P

Hi there. I don't have quilt along specific instructions, but once you learn paper piecing as a technique, you will be able to tackle the Flintstones patterns with no problems at all. Happy sewing!

@@sewhookedjen thanks, I watch the technique upstairs then try to remember how it goes when I go downstairs to my studio.

@@jayescreations489 best of luck! If that doesn't work for you, I also have a couple of text tutorials using different blocks along with other free paper piecing resources. Link in the description.

+Sarah Holt, yes, I do. I find it holds up really well and it comes off quite easily when it's time to remove the paper. Thanks for watching and happy stitching!

Hi, there! You'll find the link to the pattern in the video description.

Hi, Jan. If you take a small enough stitch (I use about a 1.4 on my personal machine), the paper will self-perforate and you'll find it's very easy to remove. I've never had a problem removing paper or with stitches becoming lose as long as the stitches are small. I use recycled printer paper, which is a little lighter in weight, which I find easier to work with. There are quilters who prefer to use water-soluble stabilizer to stitch on, but it is not by any means inexpensive, and I paper piece far too much for that.

+Dela Wurl Hi Dela, the link to the pattern I use is in the description. You can also use any pattern of your choice and follow the same technique. Happy stitching! :)

Thank you Jennifer. You are an incredible thorough instructor. I have learned so much from watching your video:) AND, I love the music! Thanks again!

+Dela Wurl My pleasure!

Hi, Wendy. Yes, absolutely. I generally take the paper off before quilting, after the block has been sewn to borders or other blocks. This is how I like to do it, but you can take the paper off sooner if you like, being careful to not stretch any bias edges that you may have left from piecing.

Thank you so much! I do have an older sewing machine pattern that is paper pieced. You can find it in the free pattern archive or by searching "all about sewing." I hope that helps! Happy sewing.