I have tried every paper for paper piecing. I like newsprint for tearing away but it's fragile to sew on. Copy paper is sturdier to sew but tedious to remove. The specialty papers are for the most part in the middle of the two. What I use now is lightweight vellum or Stable Stuff that is left in. To me it's cost vs my time and frustration level. If you really have to save money, use the method of not having to sew on the paper at all and can reuse the paper.