Book recommendation - paper piecing
 

I've not been quilting that long. Four years, maybe. But I just looked at a video of paper piecing. I'm thinking of trying this for my next project. Maybe. But rather than learn from a video (where things always look oh so easy!), I'd prefer to learn from a book for true beginners. Any book suggestions that would help a newbie with paper piecing?

Carol Doak made paper piecing very popular and do-able. I would highly recommend her books.

Carol Doak's books and DVDs!

I am not here to discourage you from getting a book on paper piecing, just to share my beginner experiences. Until I got into a rhythm I made a ton of mistakes. Sewing on the wrong side, errors with placement in relation to sew lines, fabric pieces too small and the most frustrating mistake.....cutting off seam allowances on completed blocks.

My suggestion is make your own 5 piece 6” crazy block design. Use your scraps. Practice practice until you get the rhythm down. Also make yourself a nest beside your machine with a small cutting mat and an ironing station. I use a wool pressing mat and a mini iron.

Once comfortable try something more difficult, the techniques remain the same no matter how difficult the pattern (well maybe not the ridiculous ones I will never attempt).

I love paper piecing as it provides a level of accuracy I can never achieve using regular piecing no matter how hard I try.

good luck.

I'll recommend Carol Doak also. After learning her method, I've branched out and now have a process that is quite different, but I wasn't able to go that route until I really mastered the basics. I came up with something different because I hated the amount of waste in more conventional methods.

Thank you all so much for your suggestions and your experience!

Karen

Carol Doak also has free block online. Try before you buy. I'm sure you will like it. Drafting your own paper piecing patterns is fun and easy also.

https://www.caroldoak.com/free-quilt-patterns

I will definitely encourage you to learn this. I love PP, when I started, I used batiks. That way there was no wrong or right side. For me it took away alot of the stress.

While it's not a book wholly dedicated to paper piecing, I learned a lot from the 6 pages of paper piecing instructions in the Blocks to Diamonds book. The author shows a technique of using freezer paper and folding it back and then sewing right next to the fold (rather than sewing through the paper), so there's no paper to remove at the end. I've tried it and really like it. She also has good advice on how to use strips of fabric when piecing many of the skinny triangles her patterns have, and her way greatly reduces fabric waste that some other methods have. I have not read Carol Doak's book, so I can't compare the two. There are used copies of the book (available through Amazon and other outlets), so you can get the book at quite a moderate cost.

I am not a fan of paper piecing however my finest success with any quilt I have ever made was by using a book by Carol Doak called 50 Fabulous Paper Pieced Stars. Her instructions are easy to follow and made making a beautiful quilt with ease. I am ready to make another quilt from this book and am slowly choosing fabrics from my stash to make another perfect quilt. This is a picture of the quilt After piecing it all together I hand quilted the quilt.