Beginner’s Guide to Paper Piecing for Quilting

Happy Saturday,

I have never done paper piecing before. The pattern for this project is called, Tannenbaum Table Runner by Nicole Moore. This is a fantastic pattern for a beginner.

What is paper piecing? It is a technique for quilting that involves sewing fabric on to a paper template. Here are some things that I learned, and I hope it will help you while learning this technique.

The reason that I decided to do this project was to use up some of my scraps. Once I started, I felt like a kid back in Art class. I had my glue, paper, scraps, and my imagination. The sky was the limit. Below is the midpoint picture, the project is a Christmas Tree, and it does look like grade school.

Things you will need:

• Glue Stick
• Scraps
• Copy Paper or paper piecing paper
• Thread
• Pattern

Tips:

You can use copy paper for your template which is what I used. There is also paper specific used for paper piecing or tea bag paper. I used what I had. I did not buy anything else. There was no problem removing the paper when I was done.

When you copy the pattern, make sure it prints at the full size. I printed 6 off the template and needed to make extra copies. I copied the pattern off of the copy and not the original. After everything was done, I realized that I was a 1/4 inch off.

Placing the fabrics is backwards than how you would normally sew. It took me several tries to actually figure it out. You lay the fabric on the opposite site that you are covering.

Sew your pieces with the right sides together in order of the numbers on the template. Then flip the piece to cover the underlying piece. Cut at 1/4 inch to cut off excess. Continue to build from there.

Always cut the scrap bigger than you need. Remember you are folding the scrap over the stitches that you just made. Cutting off excess is not that hard. realizing you are short a piece once it done is so frustrating. Depending on your project’s stage, starting over be easier.

Below is the finished project. Yes, I will be doing this again. It was a way to spur on creativity and use up the scraps.

Have you ever done piece quilting? Any patterns that you recommend? I always love hearing from my readers.

Happy Sewing,

Valerie