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<\/p>\nMy machine is in the shop again. I have a back up sewing machine – I just got my daughter’s sewing machine fixed – but I decided that I want to start a project that I can take along with me when I go babysitting my grandson.<\/p>\n
English Paper piecing is just that kind of project. I’ve done this type of paper piecing before (not to be confused with foundation paper piecing, which is a totally different monster, and can’t be done without a sewing machine.) So far, I’ve only\u00a0created some cool appliques to add quilt blocks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This time time I decided to make a full quilt that is completely English Paper pieced. It’s really fun to do that is extremely portable, so no matter where I am, I can still be quilting.<\/p>\n
What is English Paper Piecing? Basically, you take card stock papers of specific shapes, put fabric around them, secure the fabric with basting stitches or glue, and sew them together.<\/p>\n
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It’s really easy to do, although it can be a bit time consuming. If you need to get a quilt done quickly, this is probably not the best way to go about it.<\/p>\n
Although I haven’t found pre-cut paper piecing shapes in Israel, they do sell them on Amazon for good prices. If I have someone visiting from the US, I’ll have them bring a bunch over. You can also get them from the people that I buy from in the US and have sent here: The Fat Quarter Shop<\/a> and The Missouri Star Quilt Company.<\/a><\/p>\n If you can’t buy these cards, you can make them yourself. Just me sure that they are all the same size.<\/p>\n Because I know this is going to take me quite a while to complete, I decided to use leftover fabric from a quilt that I recently finished.\u00a0I have a lot of fabric left, so I’m not worried about running out of anything. If I were to use something new, I think that I would be a lot more impatient to see what is going to come out of it.<\/p>\n You can go wild with cutting the fabric and however is comes out, it comes out, or you can be more precise with your cutting and make more like a kaleidoscope type of affect. \u00a0I’m doing a bit of both.<\/p>\n I used the paper piece as my guide for cutting, and cut and extra 1\/4 inch around the piece. For cutting them out, I pin the paper pieces on the fabric and cut around them, eyeballing about a 1\/4 inch, but if you don’t feel feel comfortable doing that, you can trace the piece and measure the 1\/4 inch around it.<\/p>\n After the fabric is cut out, baste or glue the fabric around the edges, securing the fabric down. I like to baste. When doing this, I sewed through the paper. I use a contrasting thread so that it will be easy to see when I remove it later, after the pieces have been attached together.<\/p>\n After\u00a0my pieces\u00a0are ready, it’s time to sew them together. I switched up my thread\u00a0to one that blends with my fabric. I put the pieces edge to edge, and take small bites of fabric with each stitch. I am careful not to sew through the paper. The stitches that I use are really small, one next to the other, until the pieces are together.<\/p>\n Once my pieces are joined, I press the fabric with a dry iron. Then I take out the basting stitches, and carefully remove the papers. I will then press it again well with steam. If you have spray starch, this is a good time to use it.<\/p>\n I save the papers after I\u00a0remove them from my project – they can be reused, even if they have a few holes in them.<\/p>\n I am using hexagons in my current project, but there are a bunch of different shapes out there, including clam shells, diamonds and apple cores.<\/p>\n Like I said, I have never done a full quilt this way. It will be interesting to see how long it actually takes me. No matter how long that is, I’ll have fun along the way.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My machine is in the shop again. I have a back up sewing machine – I just got my daughter’s sewing machine fixed – but I decided that I want to start a project that I can take along with me when I go babysitting my grandson. English Paper piecing is just that kind of … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/quiltisrael.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/20170317_153324-1024x768.jpg\")
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