Paper Piecing Demo - what would you want to see or know?

Yup those all would have been my suggestions. I prefold all the lines on my
pattern. I also am terribly grateful to have read and understood the
"Butterfly Trick" from the Paper Panache website. I don't have to hold my
piece up to the light to see if it covers, etc...never did understand that.
And I can make stripes, etc. go exactly where I want them on a patch.
http://www.paperpanache.com/howto/buttrfly.htm
http://www.paperpanache.com/howto/howto.htm
http://www.paperpanache.com/contents.htm lots of good info in the "how
to" section down the page!

--
Kathyl
remove "nospam" before mchsi
http://community.webshots.com/user/kathylquiltz

"joan8904 in Bellevue Nebraska" wrote in message
oups.com...
I just taught a paper piecing class. (Fons and Porter's New York
Beauty pattern).

Fold and crease the paper along the sewing lines *before* you start
sewing. Makes it easier to trim the seam allowances and to tear off
the paper later.

Use an *add a quarter* or *add an eighth* ruler to trim the seam
allowances.

Open toe foot on the sewing machine; adjust the stitch length to
smaller than usual. I use a 14 (or 90) needle.

I made a sample of the arc piecing for each step of the process for
each student or table of students. That way they could hold it in
their hands, twist it about and ask questions.

Great fun was had by all. After 3 hours, each student left with one
beautifully made New York Beauty block.

joan

"KJ" wrote in message
news:IyT7f.277373$084.183640@attbi_s22...
Yup those all would have been my suggestions. I prefold all the lines on
my pattern. I also am terribly grateful to have read and understood the
"Butterfly Trick" from the Paper Panache website. I don't have to hold my
piece up to the light to see if it covers, etc...never did understand
that. And I can make stripes, etc. go exactly where I want them on a
patch.
http://www.paperpanache.com/howto/buttrfly.htm
http://www.paperpanache.com/howto/howto.htm
http://www.paperpanache.com/contents.htm lots of good info in the "how
to" section down the page!

What a great site. I knew there had to be a trick to joining sections
together!

Cindy

I used to trim the seam I'd just sewn to 1/4", but then I tried the
way I was taught (!! for the first time!) and found I liked it better.

Cut Fabric patch 1 about an inch large than the pattern.

Place fabric patch 1 on the unprinted side as usual, (right side
up)and pin through from the printed side setting it evenly over the
lines.

Place a stiff piece of paper along the line that separates pieces 1
and 2 on the printed side and bend the foundation paper over it
(towards you). You now have the flap of fabric sticking up.

Put it on your cutting board printed side upand measure 1/4" from the
folded back line up the fabric flap and trim the flap to 1/4 with
rotary cutter.

Take the fabric for number 2 patch, and with right sides together
align it with the newly trimmed 1/4" so that one edge matches the
trimmed edge, and hey presto, you have a 1/4" seam ready to sew.
When this piece is sewn flip into place and press with a little wooden
iron, and then do exactly the same with the 2 - 3 line, card and
fabric.

So each seam is 1/4" when you sew it.

I found that this way makes life a lot easier when you are using
narrow strips of fabric, and I wish I had followed Teachers advice
from the beginning, but the folding over the postcard seemed a bit
long-winded and slow - and meant going to find a card! I now find it
actually makes things go faster, and having a straight edge before I
sew seems to cut down on skew-wiff patches.

The instructer used an add-a-quarter ruler for the trimming, but I
only have a normal small one which I am sure works just as well and
saved me £5!.

Cutting the fabric: If there are multiple pieces the same (or you are
doing more than one block) cut strips of fabric 1" wider than the
pattern, and cut from the strips as needed. I was surprised that in
the sample sets we were given to do in class triangles were also done
from these long strips. I would have fiddled about cutting out the
triangles first, instead of trimming them with the postcasrd system.

Make sure that your pieces overlap the edges of the block well. There
is nothing more annoying than finding that you have a small triangle
of uncovered foundation paper when you come to put the blocks
together. Also it you are covering an uneven wedge shape, make sure
that when you fold your stitched patch in place you have allowed
enough fabric for the overlaps at the side. It is so easy to get this
wrong and find that your wedge shape has a bit uncovered!

If you need a number of foundations, trace only one, stack the other
papers up with the master copy on top, and sew with an unthreaded
sewing machine along the traced lines.

Remember that you will be looking at the pattern from the back as you
sew, so that it will be a mirror image of the final patch. So beware
one way designs - like alphabets (as in another thread!).

Sure I have answered the questions with too much - sorry!
--
Sally at the Seaside~~~~~~~
http://community.webshots.com/user/sallyswin






On Wed, 26 Oct 2005 16:01:02 -0400, "Kate G."
wrote:

I'm doing a paper piecing demo at our next guild meeting. I've done paper
piecing for a number of projects and I feel comfortable doing it... but
maybe you all could help me out also.

For those who do paper piece...

1) Any favorite tips or tricks you are glad you learned along the way
2) You top 2 recommendations for paper piecing beginners
3) Any fun patterns to demo you can recommend?
4) Anything else???


For those who have never paper pieced...

1) Why? Fear? Confusion? or just prefer not to?
2) If you are "afraid" ... what is it you are afraid of? Please be
specific.
3) If you have tried and become frustrated... what was the source of your
frustration?
4) Anything else???


Thanks for you input!

Kate in MI

I "learned along the way" (lol) to remember to mark in bold ink the
paper, and sew, on the correct side of paper... especially if making a
block in units.. forget using a pencl for it lol,...ask me how I know
:-)

~~Ann in central Tx~~

All great suggestions from everyone. Using too small a piece of fabric
is my #1 mistake by far. I learned by watching the DVD that came with
the first quilt book I ever bought - Carol Doak's "50 fabulous
paper-pieced stars", and the visual really helped me. I don't use the
add a 1/4 inch ruler..just my 6 inch square ruler. One cute paper
piecing pattern is the 'round tuit' Jeanne showed to me. It's on the
paper panache website and a sample is in my webshots.

Lynn
http://community.webshots.com/user/quilter329

"Kate G." wrote in message
...
I'm doing a paper piecing demo at our next guild meeting. I've done paper
piecing for a number of projects and I feel comfortable doing it... but
maybe you all could help me out also.

For those who do paper piece...

1) Any favorite tips or tricks you are glad you learned along the way
2) You top 2 recommendations for paper piecing beginners
3) Any fun patterns to demo you can recommend?
4) Anything else???

Oh, yeah, I forgot a really important one! Remember to reverse your
letters!

Cindy

Kate G. wrote:
I'm doing a paper piecing demo at our next guild meeting. I've done paper
piecing for a number of projects and I feel comfortable doing it... but
maybe you all could help me out also.

For those who do paper piece...

1) Any favorite tips or tricks you are glad you learned along the way
2) You top 2 recommendations for paper piecing beginners
3) Any fun patterns to demo you can recommend? ......
Thanks for you input!

Kate in MI

My favourite trick is to scotch tape the edges of the fabrics to the
foundation paper. I do this because I usually forget to double check
the loose edges and they get folded up and caught in subsequent lines of
stitching. I use very tiny pieces of scotch tape and stick the pieces
to my clothing before I use them to sort of remove a bit of the
stickyness. I also reuse them until they are pretty much covered in
stray bits of threads. If the tape is fresh, it sticks too much to the
foundation paper and can tear it.
I have a foundation pieced kitty face that I do as my {{{HUG}}}
block. I think it would be nice to offer an assortment of animal
designs for your students to choose from. Just about everyone has a
favourite pet -- cat, dog, bird or fish. I realize this doesn't help
the horse people or those with gerbils or hamsters or such but it would
still be fun for newbies. CiaoMeow ^;;^

--
PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ (RCTQ Queen of Kitties)
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about
their whiskers!
Visit my Photo albums at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

My favorite tip is to use the post-card method shown by Carol Doak on Simply
Quilts. You place your 1/4" ruler on the top long edge of the post-card.
Then tape the short end of the ruler to the post-card to create a hinge.
Place the post-card on the next sewing line and fold the paper back over the
post-card. Then fold the ruler down and line it up with the edge of the
post-card and cut the excess fabric. Creates a perfect 1/4" seam allowance
every time. Carol explains it much better than I ever could, but I never
paper piece without using this technique.

Another suggestion for a block is a tree block. There are any number of
them available.

--
Alice in NJ, Royal Cybrarian
http://www.ourcyberfamily.us/
"Just about the time a woman thinks her work is done, she becomes a
grandmother." Edward H. Dreschnack



"Tia Mary" wrote in message
...
: Kate G. wrote:
: I'm doing a paper piecing demo at our next guild meeting. I've done
paper
: piecing for a number of projects and I feel comfortable doing it... but
: maybe you all could help me out also.
:
: For those who do paper piece...
:
: 1) Any favorite tips or tricks you are glad you learned along the way
: 2) You top 2 recommendations for paper piecing beginners
: 3) Any fun patterns to demo you can recommend? ......
: Thanks for you input!
:
: Kate in MI
:
: My favourite trick is to scotch tape the edges of the fabrics to the
: foundation paper. I do this because I usually forget to double check
: the loose edges and they get folded up and caught in subsequent lines of
: stitching. I use very tiny pieces of scotch tape and stick the pieces
: to my clothing before I use them to sort of remove a bit of the
: stickyness. I also reuse them until they are pretty much covered in
: stray bits of threads. If the tape is fresh, it sticks too much to the
: foundation paper and can tear it.
: I have a foundation pieced kitty face that I do as my {{{HUG}}}
: block. I think it would be nice to offer an assortment of animal
: designs for your students to choose from. Just about everyone has a
: favourite pet -- cat, dog, bird or fish. I realize this doesn't help
: the horse people or those with gerbils or hamsters or such but it would
: still be fun for newbies. CiaoMeow ^;;^
:
: --
: PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ (RCTQ Queen of Kitties)
: Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about
: their whiskers!
: Visit my Photo albums at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

Totally out of synch for your class, but--I tried paper piecing on two
blocks and found that one block worked very well and another..........well,
the less said, the better. Why do some patterns work better than others? A
simple geometric works well, a complicated pattern of herons was a disaster.
All help gratefully accepted! I would love to do a quilt with the herons
pattern, but the pieces just don't fit together.

--
Carolyn in The Old Pueblo

If it ain't broke, you aren't trying. --Red Green
If it ain't broke, it ain't mine. --Carolyn McCarty

If at first you don't succeed, switch to power tools --Red Green
If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer. --Carolyn McCarty

"Kate G." wrote in message
...
I'm doing a paper piecing demo at our next guild meeting. I've done paper
piecing for a number of projects and I feel comfortable doing it... but
maybe you all could help me out also.

For those who do paper piece...

1) Any favorite tips or tricks you are glad you learned along the way
2) You top 2 recommendations for paper piecing beginners
3) Any fun patterns to demo you can recommend?
4) Anything else???


For those who have never paper pieced...

1) Why? Fear? Confusion? or just prefer not to?
2) If you are "afraid" ... what is it you are afraid of? Please be
specific.
3) If you have tried and become frustrated... what was the source of your
frustration?
4) Anything else???


Thanks for you input!

Kate in MI

Kate:
Are you familiar with the work of designer and teacher Cindi
Edgerton? She is extremely talented, and a long time specialist
in foundation piecing.

She has a lovely site. Go he
http://tinyurl.com/a3upd Click on 'just for you' link for her
free patterns, and free paper foundation piecing instructions.
These may help you organize for your demonstration.

I really really like how Cindi does the trimming BEFORE sewing
each seam. BTW, her patterns are printed on the same tissue as
garment patterns, so they are quite easy to use. I have no
investment in her company, but I enjoy Cindi's classes, and she
belongs to my guild. HTH.

PAT in VA/USA

Kate G. wrote:

I'm doing a paper piecing demo at our next guild meeting. I've done paper
piecing for a number of projects and I feel comfortable doing it... but
maybe you all could help me out also.