A friend of mine uses old telephone books for free, thin paper. I have tried it with regular printer paper and like that it is so stiff for intricate work. When I can, I sew, fold the paper at the seam, finger press and tear from the seam side while I hold the main piece in place. It seems to work for me but I don't do a lot of paper piecing. I hope you're having fun experimenting with this technique.