Foundation piecing is too hard for me
 

This month's Craftsy's free BOM is foundation piecing and I'm finding it very frustrating. I'm seeming to be wasting a lot of fabric. She says to cut the fabric 1/2" bigger than the piece calls for, but when I go to cut the extra, I cut 2" or more off. And yesterday, it took me all day to make one block. One 12 1/2" block. Foundation piecing is hard! Am I doing something wrong? Now I have to make the second foundation block and it is twice as hard as the first one and I'm not looking forward to doing it. Are there any short cuts? Any tips? I'm not having fun paper piecing and I want to enjoy it. It's my first attempt and maybe my last.

visit Carol Doak's web site- she is kind of the queen of paper piecing and there are lots of hints, tips and help available on the site.
if you check out the pictures from here of the 50 stars in 50 weeks- we are doing them from one of Carol's books- all paper pieced. the first time i tried it on my own i wasted lots of fabric-hated the technique & swore to never do it again- fast forward 2 years & i tried again- with one of Carol's patterns and i've never looked back- it's one of my favorite techniques & very little waste. good luck

great advice.

I learned to paper piece two winters ago and it took me all winter to really figure out what I was doing. It took me more than a day to make my first block. DOn't give up. Get out Carol Doaks book on learning to PP. It will really help you. I now love to PP and you will to. It's fun to do and your points will come out perfect. I am well into my 70's so if I can do it YOU CAN TOO!!

Carol Doak all the way! I can do it her way and no other way. You can make some awesome blocks if you take the time to learn. Once you do a couple of Carol's free patterns you can go back to the block you are trying to make and use her method.

So far I haven't had a desire to do PP, but, who knows???

I do most of my quilts with PP. I love the precision it gives. I encourage you to try, try again. It does take a while to get the hang of it. I am hoping that you fall in love with it!

I, too am having trouble with the Craftsy paper piecing. Once I get the first two pieces sewn, the rest is OK; but I have made so many mistakes with the first two pieces. I feel like I use the seam ripper more than the machine. Also, though I cut the fabric 1/2" larger on each side, I'm having trouble getting every thing to fit. I don't have enough cloth to cut the pieces over. Thank goodness, I haven't cut out the pieces for the second block. I'll make the pieces much larger. I also had trouble sewing the paper without thread. My Bernina would not sew without thread. My Singer Featherweight really saved the day. I'm still working on the first block. Maybe I'll soon know what I'm doing, then I think it will be fun. Thanks for the suggestion of checking out Carol Doak's website. In the meantime I am going over the Craftsy class yet another time.

I've done a lot of paper piecing. The best method bar none that I've found so far is Marci Bakers. The pieces fit every single time. Even really odd angles. Every. Single. Time.

She has instructional cards called "know before you sew". I got the basic paper piecing one.

http://shop.online-quilting.com/shop.html

i have not foundation pieced, but have tried paper piecing. it is, indeed, difficult at first. once you have a little success, you will be glad you learned. hang in there. please show us how you are doing.

Sorry, but I think pre-perforating the paper (per the Craftsy instructions) is a complete waste of time!! You do the exact same thing when you lower your stitch length and sew the darn pieces together. The paper comes off fine.

I saw Marci Baker the other evening. loved her quilts and books and rulers, etc.

Foundation piecing is no pattern needed on paper, paper piecing is pattern printed on paper. Carol Doak's dvd was the only way I could learn how to paper piece. She goes step by step, no short cuts and you see every cut and stitch. I don't know how anyone learns paper piecing by a book, the pictures doesn't show enough.

This is paper piecing because the pattern is printed on the paper. She called it foundation piecing but I knew it was paper piecing. I am going to check out Carol Doak's and see if I can get encouraged by her. I've done 19 blocks so far, (19th being the paper pieced one) and have one last one to go. Seem to can't find the encouragement to try it again. So, I will look into her. Thank you all so much. Especially saying how much you enjoy it now. Makes me think there is hope. I've always wanted to try it! Thanks again!

Sent you a PM. I have a Carol Doak video on CD that I will send to you!!!

Don't give up... just take a break and come back to it. You may see it with fresh eyes after a break.

I've done paper-piecing off and on for years and each time I try another block, its time consuming. For me its the backwards thing that throws me off. I persevere and after a few pieces I'm in the swing again.
Cut your fabric pieces about an inch larger all around to be sure you don't get short on an outside edge. A little waste is better than doing it over.
Just remember, its a given. It takes longer than a regular pieced block but its usually very beautiful when finished so worth the extra effort.

Don't give up! Once you get the hang of it, you will love it!!!

You will have beautiful points!!! I can't do a log cabin block or courthouse steps without paper piecing them. Otherwise, they become WONKY log cabin blocks!!!

There are some great videos on paper piecing on you tube. I just had to brush up on mine and they really helped.

while learning be prepared to waste some fabric --when the 'penny drops' and you know what you are doing then you can conserve fabric more--it took me a while but has been worth the effort

Paper piecing does waste alot of fabric. I guess you just get used to it for the incredible results, perfect points and blocks!!!

I hate wasting fabric expecially since I am now on a limited income. When I am doing paper piecing I always print out an extra copy of the block. I cut this into the individual shapes and use these to measure and cut the pieces for sewing onto the pattern paper. Paper piecing gives me lovely sharp points and makes sewing smaller pieces much easier and I don't feel that I am being wasteful.:o

Paper piecing is just one form of foundation piecing. It can be frustrating at first, but gets easier fast. The New York Beauty BOM thread on this site has good ideas for starting.

Hang in there. I tried for years to figure it out from books and just could not understand. Then a friend of mine came over and showed me step by step and it finally clicked. It clicked so well that I improved on the method that she'd been taught on Quilt University. And like other posters, every time I start a new one I have to re-learn until it clicks again.

Same here!

You have my sympathy. I just don't "get" paper piecing. I have had a couple of good quilt buddy coaches and even tried Carol Doak's tutorials. When I left a comment on her blog about how hard it was even trying to follow her well laid out steps, I got a personal phone call from Carol offering help. The phone call was great but I still can't paper piece.

Learning to foundation/paper piece on the machine is a bit like getting used to a new sewing machine. With a bit of practice and persistence you open up a whole new world of quilt making. Since I mostly do smaller projects like wall hangings etc. it doesn't seem like a chore. I love the sharp points and accurate looking finished quilt. I learned from Carol Doak and she is the master but there are many other patterns out there. When I am interested in a specific pattern I try to find out if there is a PP pattern or could be done as one. Happy Paper Piecing

I've never tried foundation piecing, but I agree with you about the waste when I paper piece. If I cut the pieces close to the size I need, I always manage to get it sewed on wonky and then it's too small. I love the end result, though, as well as the precision it provides.

Ah! Great idea! Thank you!

And I have to echo the comments about Carol Doaks and her video. I purchased the video at JoAnn with a coupon a couple of years ago and it's great -- as are the "add a quarter" and "add an eighth" rulers.

I'm not sure if foundation piecing and paper piecing are the same thing, but after two pp classes and a guild challenge block I can firmly state that pp and I are not going to be friends. Ever. I just don't get it. I love how it looks and admire anyone that can do it and enjoys it. Maybe someday I'll try it again. BIG maybe.

I had to take a class to learn PP. The class served me well. I can go a year or more without doing it and it comes right back to me immediately. My knowledge in PP allowed me to teach myself the freezer paper method from a book that a previous poster mentioned, which is another great variation on the technique and allowed me to make mariner's compass blocks. I would not attempt MC, nor NYB nor any countless other blocks where precision is necessary without PP, be it the foundation PP method or the freezer paper method where you fold the paper back and sew next to it.

There is much to be said for a real live person in the flesh showing you how to do it and working through the mental blocks with you until it clicks. JCrow, I recommend you find a class in your area and take it. I think you will save yourself untold amounts of frustration by taking a class with a real live person who you can ask for assistance more than any book, dvd, you-tube video etc.

JMHO.

When one sews fabric pieces on to a design printed on paper (paper-piecing), that is just one type of foundation piecing.

Try http://www.fandominstitches.com

Jeanne, I'm getting ready to do that block too. This will be my 3rd attempt at paper piecing. I had the same reaction as you the first time. The second time gets easier. Third time I didn't even have to use my seam ripper. The part that threw me the most was pre-cutting the pieces. Whenever there are triangles, forget it. I have a mental block when it comes to triangles. It does seem to be a waste of fabric at first, but the better you get at it, the less a waste it will be. I generally go to my scraps for these blocks. They generally use itsy bits of fabric. These pieces are a little bigger though. I am somewhere between I hate it and I can't wait to do it again. I can almost see where paper piecing does have a distinct purpose, in that it is an easier way to make precision blocks that look really complicated. Good luck to you--in fact, to both of us. :-)

You are doing nothing wrong. It is a hard method at first but stick with it. It took me 2 years of "hit and miss" before I spent a whole weekend doing nothing else until I got my head around it and pretty much mastered it.

There are some excellent you-tube videos on the method. Have a google.

I have NOT done the class yet. I have not done PP or foundation piecing, but I did recently purchase a set of PP butterfly patterns at a recent sewing expo (a lot of fun if you can go to one, btw). I looked at the itty bitty pieces and decided, know what?! Find a pattern with large pieces to play with first.

A lot of the ladies in these parts have gotten enthralled with the fairy quilting godmother patterns on the web. I'm not overly enthused, but perhaps one day when I run out of things I really want to do. :) Someone wanted to have a class to make one of them as a first experience in paper piecing. No way, Jose! At least not for me. It's like learning to crochet -- get the fattest yarn (without all the fru fru on it) & biggest hook to start off -- not the teeny sewing thread size crochet thread and a miniscule hook. That is an exercise in frustration and futility.

I agree that Marci Baker is wonderful and Carol Doak seems like the way to go. Try a block with large pieces and fewer of them, then progress. JMHO and remember I'm totally unexperienced in PP.

Don't be so hard on yourself, either. First time rarely ever turns out great, regardless of what it is.