English paper piecing newbie questions
 

Last night at my favorite LQS Halloween party, I won a small English paper piecing kit-enough pieces of fabric and paper to make a flower. The directions are pretty clear, but does it need a particular needle? Somewhere, in the back of my head, I thought I remembered that it does.

Also, now I'm interested. (And waiting out a hurricane-anything I can do by hand may be a good thing before this is all over!) What else can you do with English paper piecing? All I know about is Grandma's Flower Garden, and tiny apple cores. I googled and there are a ton of pages out there-are there any specifically that I should check out while I've still got power? :)

I am making an English paper piecing wall hanging with 1 1/4 inch hexagon for Christmas. It is a wreath. Hope you enjoy English paper piecing. Glad I tried it, but I don't think I will be doing anymore of it.

Can you point me to the pattern you used? That might be fun!

I love English Paper Piecing!!! There are a variety of techniques to baste the paper shape to your fabric (going through the paper or not at all). I opted for going through the paper because I never finish anything right away...I need my projects to be able to sit for a while. :)

I use any old needle and thread for basting. Bonnie Hunter has a great technique for basting and sewing as you go: http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2010/...-tutorial.html

For whip stitching the blocks together, I use Superior Threads 60 wt. Bottom Line Polyester and Fozglove Cottage Straw Needles size 11. Love them but I experimented with MANY threads and needles. There are no special threads or needles required, just what works for you.

Take a look at paper pieces for more ideas: http://www.paperpieces.com/

I am using EPP for many of my Dear Jane blocks (posted in my albums) and have quite a collection of beautiful EPP quilts posted here: http://pinterest.com/fraewquilts/english-paper-piecing/

I would love to see a pic of what you won at the LQS...hint hint.

Have fun and hope the power stays on.

F

Thanks for the excellent links Fraew. I must get back to doing some EPP really soon.
Annie

here's a couple different things i've done with EPP= the sky is the limit (or your imagination) there are all kinds of things you can do with hex blocks-
[ATTACH=CONFIG]372825[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]372826[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]372827[/ATTACH]

I did a mariners compass using the English paper piecing method, but I used freezer paper instead of normal paper. It was easier to do my basting stitches around those really pointy bits because the paper didn't move and I got nice sharp points.
http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...s-t159809.html

I love what you have done with yours, ckcowl, especially your pink and black blocks. :)

I agree with the recommendation of using straw needles and Superior's Bottom Line thread. One of the great things about Bottom Line is you can purchase collections of colors, wound on bobbins and sold in bobbin rings. This makes it ideal for applique and EPP.

However, instead of using a whip stitch to sew your hexies together, I highly recommend using what's called the ladder stitch. I've used both, but disliked the fact that my whip stitches were visible. I found that using the ladder stitch solved this problem.
http://ts3.mm.bing.net/th?id=I.47364...h=154&c=7&rs=1

Thanks for the info! I got my flower put together last night; I still have to iron it and pick the basting out, but it's basically done. I'll likely order needles and thread today-I think I'm fairly well hooked. :D

fraew, I probably did not need to know about paperpieces.com. So many ideas!

ckcowl, I LOVE the first flower basket! Did you use a pattern design it yourself?

peckish, I noticed my whip stitching was showing in a few places. I'll definitely try the ladder stitch next time!