Playful Little Paper-Pieced Projects

Foundation piecing involves using a paper or fabric foundation as a sewing guide and stabilizer to create a precisely pieced design. The term foundation piecing actually includes a variety of techniques that vary depending on the block design or the quilter’s preference. The designs in this book use two techniques, with most projects requiring only the first:

Each method has its advantages and disadvantages, and you can experiment to find what works best. You need not limit yourself to only one approach; in fact, some designs in this book mix and match techniques within the same block.

Regardless of the foundation-piecing method, you’ll need to transfer the pattern onto your chosen foundation material. You can print designs from CD content is available to download from http://tinyurl.com/11026-patterns directly from your computer onto regular printer paper or sheets of paper specifically designed for foundation piecing.

In basic foundation piecing, the finished block will be the mirror image of the original design. With symmetric designs such as snowflakes, this is not important. And for some asymmetric designs, such as fruits or trees, the design might work either way, depending on your block. But in other cases, the reversal definitely matters; so, when making the letter N, keep this reversal in mind! The foundations on CD content is available to download from http://tinyurl.com/11026-patterns included with this book are already reversed for you.

You can find a variety of foundation papers and freezer paper, cut to fit your printer, on the C&T website (ctpub.com).

Sheets of newsprint, freezer paper, and foundation papers are also available on the Electric Quilt Company website (electricquilt.com).

When printing a design onto foundation paper, if Page Scaling is available in the Print Options, be sure to set it to 100% or None, to ensure that the pattern is printed without distortion.

If you’re not printing from a computer directly onto the foundation material, you can trace from photocopies onto the foundation using a lightbox or by holding the foundation and design up to a window. Before tracing, tape both layers in place to prevent either from shifting.

If you’re using freezer paper, trace designs onto the matte side.

Trim the foundation, leaving ½˝ around the edge of the design. It is much easier to sew the design without excess foundation getting in the way.

In basic foundation piecing, you place the first piece of fabric wrong side against the unprinted side of the foundation, then position the second piece and line up the seams. Sew exactly on the line on the printed side of the foundation through the paper and the fabric layers. As you machine sew to add each piece of the design, make sure the right side of the design faces down.

Foundations can be either temporary or permanent. Temporary foundations, such as vellum, printing paper, and freezer paper, are torn away after the design has been stitched together. Permanent foundations, such as interfacing, muslin, or other lightweight cotton fabrics, remain in place in the finished project. The type of foundation you use may depend on your finished project. Temporary foundations are great for avoiding bulk—for instance, when making quilts. Permanent foundations may be more useful when making very small pieces or when you want the finished design to be a little stiffer—for instance, when making bags.

Make three copies of the design—one on the foundation of your choice and two on printer paper. One of the printer paper copies will be used as a cutting guide, and the other will be a master reference for piecing the design.

One oft-heard grumble about foundation piecing is fabric wastage. It is difficult to estimate the size of a scrap of fabric for an awkwardly shaped piece of the design.

Make an additional copy of the design to use as a cutting guide to take the guesswork out of cutting fabric scraps. For each piece in the design, cut out the corresponding piece from the cutting guide and lay it right side up on the wrong side of the fabric. Cut out the fabric, leaving about ½˝ seam allowance all the way around. This seam allowance allows a little wiggle room for piecing, while also preventing fabric wastage.

Paper-piecing foundations are usually numbered to show piecing order. The order is determined by the block’s geometry, and there may be more than one possible ordering. In general, interior pieces are sewn first and larger pieces are added around them to build a design.

Some designs cannot be sewn using a single foundation because of their geometry. These designs are divided into sections that are paper pieced separately and then sewn together using conventional piecing. In this book, all foundation pieces are labeled with a letter for the section and a number indicating piecing order within that section. Designs requiring only one section will have only numbers.

Some designs can be divided into sections in more than one way. In this case, there is no right or wrong—choose what works for you.

For a more in-depth look at how to divide block designs into different segments for piecing, refer to Every Quilter’s Foundation Piecing Reference Tool by Jane Hall and Dixie Haywood (C&T Publishing, available as an eBook only).

2. Shorten the stitch length on your machine. A shorter stitch length (12 to 16 stitches per inch, or 2mm) strengthens the seams. Also, because each stitch perforates the foundation, a shorter stitch makes removal of temporary foundations that much easier.

Sewing through paper dulls needles quickly. Start each project with a new needle.

3. Use the cutting guide to cut a fabric scrap larger than the first piece in the design. Place the scrap on the back of the foundation, wrong sides facing, with at least ¼˝ seam allowance all the way around. Hold the work up to a light source to check that the fabric completely covers the area. Pin the fabric in place or use a gluestick if the first piece is so small that a pin would be in the way.

4. Use the cutting guide to cut a fabric scrap larger than the second piece. Line it up with the first fabric piece, right sides facing, overlapping the seamline by at least ¼˝.

Before sewing, check the placement of each fabric scrap by pinning along the seamline and folding back the scrap to make sure it sufficiently covers the area. It is easier to reposition the fabric before sewing than to try to unpick the seam without tearing the foundation. Make sure the pin is out of the way before sewing.

5. Sew along the line dividing the two pieces on the front of the foundation. Backstitch at the beginning and end of the seam. Do not sew past the line at either end, unless the line runs to the outside edge of the foundation pattern, in which case sew ¼˝ into the outside seam allowance of the finished piece.

6. Trim the seam allowance to ¼˝. Trim now to avoid unwanted shadows later. The next seam will secure the beginning and end of this seam.

Important! Press after sewing each piece in the design to keep the block flat.

9. If the design was assembled in several sections, leave all foundations in place and use pins to align any seams and design elements that span sections. Sew the sections together and press the seams between sections.

When the design is finished, the pieces on the outer edges of the design should extend beyond the foundation by at least ¼˝. Trim the finished block to create an even ¼˝ seam allowance all around.

Start by removing the foundation from the last piece you stitched. To remove the foundation, first fold the foundation back along the seamline and crease well with your fingers. Then press down on the seam with one hand and carefully tear the foundation away with the other hand.

Tweezers can be very useful for removing stubborn bits of foundation papers.

In freezer paper piecing (not to be confused with basic foundation piecing using freezer paper as the foundation), each piece in the foundation is cut out separately and ironed to the fabric. Tick marks are used to pin-match seams and ensure accuracy. To make sure you don’t sew through the foundation, sew the fabrics together using the edge of the freezer paper foundation as the sewing guide.

Several projects in this book start with basic foundation piecing, switch to freezer paper piecing to add a Y-seam, and then resume with basic foundation piecing for the rest of the project. For illustration purposes, we will use a paper piecing design and show how it would be done entirely using freezer paper piecing.

English paper piecing is similar to freezer paper piecing in that every patch gets its own foundation.

My book Hexa-Go-Go, published by Stash Books, is a great reference if you are interested in finding out more about English paper piecing and, in particular, hexagons.

Make two copies of the block pattern. Trace one copy onto the matte side of freezer paper using a pencil, and print a second copy on regular paper as a master reference. Indicate on the master reference copy where different fabrics and colors will be used.

Keep in mind that the finished design will be the mirror image of the pattern drawn on the matte side of the freezer paper.

Label the sections in the foundation and number the pieces in each section according to the piecing order. Number the master reference copy the same as the freezer paper copy. Mark section lines using different colors, using broad-tipped markers so the color shows on both sides after pieces are cut apart.

Tick marks are essential for ensuring that each piece aligns perfectly in the pattern. Arm yourself with a pack of color pens and make tick marks (short lines) wherever any two pieces join. Choose different colors for each join to avoid confusion when sewing the pieces back together. Alternatively you could use different symbols, such as crosses or double lines.

Use one pair of scissors for cutting paper and another for cutting fabric. Cutting paper dulls the blades more rapidly. Mark the paper-cutting scissors in a quickly noticeable way, such as with a ribbon on the handle.

Using paper scissors, cut out one section from the freezer paper pattern. Cut out all the pieces in that section; then, lay each piece with the shiny side of the freezer paper on the wrong side of the fabric. Make sure to allow at least ¼˝ all the way around each piece for the seam allowance.

To avoid losing pieces or getting in a pickle trying to put the pieces back together again, cut out only one section at a time. If a section is divided into subsections, cut a subsection at a time.

Adhere the freezer paper pieces to the fabric with a hot iron. Use a ruler to measure a ¼˝ seam allowance all the way around each piece; then, cut out each piece.

A Clover iron can help you adhere small pieces of freezer paper to the fabric and press the shape as you go along.

Some designs have very small pieces that can be difficult to handle while sewing. To manage such pieces, trace them onto a separate scrap of freezer paper. Trace all the relevant tick marks and add a ¼˝ seam allowance to the freezer paper piece before cutting it out. Adhere it to the fabric, but instead of adding the seam allowance to the fabric, simply cut the shape directly around the freezer paper piece.

1. Before you start sewing, arrange the cut pieces as they should appear in the section to avoid sewing the pieces together in the wrong order.

2. Reduce your machine’s stitch length. Although you will not sew through the paper, you will need small stitches to make sure each small seam in the design is strong.

3. Line up the corresponding tick marks of two adjoining pieces. Place a pin through both marks perpendicular to the fabric. Holding that pin in place, use more pins to pin the pieces together. Pinning in this manner prevents the pieces from slipping and moving out of alignment.

If the freezer paper pieces fall off during pinning or sewing, you can use your iron to adhere them again. Take extra care to make sure the piece is realigned in the right position. Use the ¼˝ seam allowance and tick marks as guides.

4. Unless the adjoining pieces are part of a Y-seam, sew the pieces together from one end to the next using a ¼˝ seam allowance.

If the pieces form part of a Y-seam, start and end the seam where the freezer paper starts—not where the fabric starts. Backstitch at both the start and end of the seam.

6. Sew all the pieces in one section at a time before sewing the sections together.

For more details on freezer paper piecing, refer to Ruth B. McDowell’s Piecing Workshop, published by C&T Publishing (available as a Print on Demand copy only).

Basic foundation piecing is usually the faster of the two methods described in this book, because you don’t need to cut apart foundations for every single piece. However, your choice depends on the design. If a design contains Y-seams, the freezer paper method allows you to maneuver better. If you are using slippery fabric, individual foundations make for easier handling, because the freezer paper acts as a stabilizer for each piece. Freezer paper piecing also allows you to control the pressing direction, which means you can press seams open to reduce bulk.

It is possible to combine methods within the same project to get the advantages of both. Several designers in this book have done exactly that: they use basic foundation piecing, switch to freezer paper piecing to complete a Y-seam, and resume with basic foundation piecing.

CD content is available to download from http://tinyurl.com/11026-patterns included with this book contains full-size patterns to complete every project in the book. The patterns are organized by project, so you can choose your project and get started!