It’s Day 3 and we’re paper piecing!
I love to paper piece! It’s a technique I use a lot, especially when I’m working in miniature, because it produces really accurate, predictable results. Paper piecing also allows you to experiment with asymmetry or to work with odd sizes and dimensions without worrying about the math.
If you’ve never tried paper piecing before, there are a lot of tutorials available online to get you started. Craftsy has a basic photo tutorial that’s good and the method that Lindsay Conner is teaching is almost identical to my own. But if you’d prefer a video tutorial, I’d suggest Jennifer Mathis’ tutorial at EllisonLane.com — she uses a slightly different, but equally effective approach. And at the end of her video, she provides links to several other tutorials just in case you need a bit more help or you’d like to try a different approach.
And by the way, a few of the tutorials that I checked out suggest using special paper or velum for printing your paper piecing patterns. The special paper is great because it’s a lighter weight and therefore easier to remove from your completed block, but it’s absolutely not necessary. I just use standard printer paper and sew with a very small stitch (say 18 stitches/inch). The small stitch helps to perforate the paper and I usually have no trouble it pulling away.
Today we’ll be paper piecing a fairly simple quilt block — it’s 3″ x 6″ pine tree. Below is an EQ sketch of what it will look like:
I’ve colored the block with lighter shades of blue than we will actually be using because the low contrast between the dark blue and the dark green makes it a bit hard to see on-line. And FYI, the blue below the tree is supposed to be a bit lighter than the blue around the tree — we’re hoping for a subtle gradation of color.
Here’s the link for the paper piecing pattern for my pine tree block. After you print it, make sure that you measure it before you begin sewing — from outermost solid line to outermost solid line, it should measure 3½” x 6½” (the pattern includes seam allowance and the block will finish at 3″ x 6″).
And here’s my finished block!
Once you get the hang of it, paper piecing couldn’t be easier or more fun! And just look at that super sharp point at the top of the tree!
Enjoy your weekend and I’ll see you back here for Day 4!
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Dear Jen, I am interested in making your Peace on Earth quilt. I have never done paper piecing before and per your instructions after printing out the pattern for the pine tree I measured it and it's not the required size. How do you recommend I fix that? Just enlarge the pattern to the correct size? Thank you for any help you can give me. Bea