I love paper piecing and the accuracy it gives my blocks. But I can tell you, if I only cut my pieces a 1/2 inch larger than needed, I would be constantly redoing my blocks! For me that just isnt large enough to cover if the fabric moves a bit or I dont line it up perfect. I cut about a 3/4 inch wider on each side, sometimes an inch wider. I get probably waste a lot of fabric, BUT I think wasting it by cutting the pieces too small to begin with is worse.