How to Quilt With Paper Piecing

Paper piecing is a popular method for creating mini-quilts.

Paper piecing, also known as "foundation piecing," is a traditional quilting method popular for creating precise, sharp points, unusual shapes and eliminating the need to cut small pieces of fabric. Paper piecing will take more time than traditional quilting because you'll need to trace the quilt block patterns onto your foundation material, but the accuracy the technique provides is well worth the effort.

Things You'll Need

• Quilt block pattern
• Iron-on transfer pen or pencil
• Tracing paper
• Foundation material
• Quilter's ruler
• Rotary cutter and mat
• Iron
• Fabric
• Straight pins
• Thread
• Sewing machine
• Scissors

Instructions

1. 

   The inner circle of this pattern would be #1, the triangles #2 and so on.

   Use your iron-on transfer pen or pencil to trace your quilt block pattern onto a piece of paper. Number each part of the quilt block pattern in the order they will be sewed. The pattern you've chosen should tell you the order to sew the pieces in. If you have more than one of the same shape and size piece, label them all with the same number.

2. Measure and cut the foundation material you've chosen, either fabric or paper, to the size of your quilt block. Iron the traced quilt design onto the foundation piece. You should be able to get four or five good transfers pressed to your foundation material before needing to re-trace the design.

3. Cut your fabric into strips or squares depending on the pattern you've chosen.

4. Lay your foundation piece on the table, unmarked side up; this is the right side. Position the fabric piece you've marked "1" over area No.1 on the foundation. Be sure the fabric piece overlaps all the marked sides of area No.1 and pin in place.

5. Take the fabric piece you will be using for area No.2 and lay it on top of fabric No.1, right sides together and pin in place. The right side of your fabric is the side with the brighter hue.

6. Turn over the foundation and sew the fabric to the foundation on the marked line between areas No.1 and No.2. You are creating a seam between the two piece of fabric without having to cut the fabric to an exact size.

7. Fold the foundation material along the seam line that you just sewed and trim the seam allowance to 1/8 inch. Lay the foundation flat on the right side; fold open piece number two and press flat.

8. Repeat steps 4 through 7, positioning your pieces in order, flipping the foundation, sewing and trimming the seams until you've finished the block. If you have more than one of a certain piece in your block pattern, be sure to stitch all of the same numbers before moving onto the next number in sequence. For example, stitch all No.3's before moving on to No.4.

9. Press the finished block and trim to size according to your quilt pattern directions.

Tips & Warnings

• The foundation of your quilt blocks can be either permanent or temporary. There are many types of temporary foundation paper on the market that can either be torn away or dissolved with water after sewing. The permanent foundation is not actually paper but a scrap of fabric or muslin.

References

• "Log Cabin quilt-Show"; American School of Needlword, Inc.; 1993

Resources

• JOANN: A source for paper piecing foundation material