Hi and welcome to this months tutorial :D . This month I am going to try and give an overview of the English Paper Piecing method. This is a big subject so I will only be able to touch briefly on what you can do with it, but hopefully will give you some ideas to get you started.
English Paper Piecing (EPP) like any other method has advantages and disadvantages. I am personally very fond of using this method, it has many nostalgic memories for me as it was how my grandmother first taught me to piece. I also really like that this method requires so little in the way of quilting gears, you don’t even need a sewing machine, so this makes the art of quilting available to people just starting out or for someone who has little in the way of resources. All you need is scissors, paper, needle and thread, a reliable shape and some fabric scraps. I have always been fortunate enough to own a sewing machine but there are many people in the world who are not so lucky.
This is very portable, toss a few pieces in a bag in your purse and you can achieve quite a bit in those times that are often wasted, waiting at the Doctors, commuting to work etc. You don’t need to worry about measuring and cutting accurate seam allowances. Basically if you get your paper shapes accurate, your pieces will fit. The whip stitch is a simple sewing stitch easily taught to the young ones. It’s great for piecing the more complex blocks like Carpenter’s Star and Fannie’s Star, that I would normally balk at piecing on the sewing machine. Y-seams become a non issue (Always a good thing :lol: ) A couple of disadvantages would be the basting required and that it is hand sewing so will be slower.