I made a huge paper pieced pineapple block quilt and tried sewing the blocks together both ways...with and without the paper. I first did it with the papers on and was not pleased with the results, I then carefully removed the paper, pressed the blocks and even stitched around the very outside edge to prevent shifting and tried again...still not to my total liking. Then I starched, pressed and sewed the blocks together after basting them initially with the largest stitch possible, adjusting the not so great intersections and pinning those and finally the regular stitch. Was I 100% happy with the results...ummm not really but I was pleased and that is how I ended up finishing the quilt.
First off the hype that paper piecing gives your perfection is just that, but it does produce some stunning results that just regular piecing seldom rivals. I know I could have pressed more carefully when I did the block and maybe then the angular intersections might have been more "perfect" and leaving the papers on would have been the way to go as some well known teachers suggest. However, there are a ton of angles, various biases, varying thicknesses of fabrics and then there is the human factor and this is not ever going to result in flawlessness. I bet when you fix the worst intersections and you have it all pressed and ultimately quilted...you will step back and look at this and be more than happy you did it!
Last edited by Basketman; 02-01-2015 at 07:05 AM.