economical foundation papers for paper piecing?
 

For those of you who paper piece, is there something you use for foundation paper that is economical? I'm new to pp'ing---got a package of Carol Doak's foundation papers for Christmas. I love the papers, and am loving pp'ing, but at nearly $10 for a package of 100 papers, that's 10 cents a sheet. Too expensive (for me) to be practical, if I want to keep paper piecing. I have tracing paper, but I doubt that would go through the printer, and I'd rather not hand trace every block in a quilt. I was thinking white 15 lb. continuous perforated computer paper might work, but don't have any to try. Have any of you used that for pp'ing, and how did it work? Or is there something else out there I haven't thought of? Thanks in advance for any help.

I use regular copy paper--sew with a very small stitch, and that perforates it for easy removal.

You can buy 500 sheets of 8 1/2 x 11 newsprint & it tears easily & is cheap.

What WandaVa said.

I use regular copy paper, remove thread from my needle an stich on the lines. Change needle and sew PP block as you like. Easy to remove, an you have a line on the back side for reference. I have one needle that I only use to perforate paper, it's an old dull one I have used for years.

My favorite is manila paper. It's the kind in the Scribble Pads from the Dollar Tree Store. There are 60 sheets for $1.00 and they are 9" X 12". I cut them down to 8.5" X 11" and have no problems running them through my printer. The manila paper also tears off easily.

A ream (500 sheets) of 8½ x 11 newsprint (which is the same thing as manilla paper I believe) sells for $3.56 at Dick Blick and works great for paper piecing without having to cut anything down to size for your printer. That works out to less than ¾ of a penny per sheet. Many of the reviews on Blick's website are from quilters who use it. :)

http://www.dickblick.com/products/bl...print/#reviews

I agree - newsprint is my new favorite. Before I bought the newsprint, I used the cheapest copy paper that I could find. This is what I ordered recently:

http://www.dickblick.com/products/bl...ose-newsprint/

as I could not find it anywhere in the store. Works nicely in my printer. I keep the ream in a large ziplock bag to keep out any extra moisture and only load what I need in the printer.

I use 8 1/2 by 11 white newsprint as well. Be careful what printer you use. I tried to use our office printer which was very fast and it didn't like the thinness of the news print and kept jamming. I used a small desktop printer and had no problems.

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.

I use the cheapest white rim paper (for computer printing) that they usually give away at office supply stores.

I just use the cheapest copy paper I can buy, shorten my stitch length and haven't had any problems.

When I am doing machine applique and need something on the back, I just put 8 1/2 x 11 ordinary typing paper. Jim brought home a bunch from work that they were throwing away. I do not know if this is too thick, but you could give it a try.

thank you eparys/Betty
I just ordered some

I still have some foundation paper ordered from MSQC for a project UFO. But I've found it is similar to tissue paper for gift wrapping. Most sheets are 20x20". So you can get 4/ 10" pieces or cut to your specs. They work for me. Also the phone book papers. Most of our phone books are older and I just haven't gotten rid of them. DH likes to use them for different projects also.

I also use newsprint. It's cheap and tears away easily. I got mine from amazon.com. I don't remember the brand but it was the one with the best reviews, if that helps any. It's softer than copy paper, so I feel it must be less dulling, to my needles.

Phone book pages are used for foundation piecing not paper piecing. Paper piecing you need the pattern printed on the paper. Foundation/string piecing you don't need a pattern. I like MSQC foundation papers and buy them when they are the daily special. The new phone books we get here, the paper is certainly not like it use to be.

Deli wraps sold in 500 per box, two boxes in the package at Sam's Club are excellent for foundation piecing and one box will last probably a lifetime. And it's easy to get just one sheet at a time out of the box when needed, like tissue. Cheap too.

Will the deli paper go through a printer, or are you hand tracing your patterns?

The deli wraps are for foundation/string piecing not paper piecing.

I feed my newsprint sheets through my Printer, for paper piecing. Have had no problems with it, so far.

I have used masking paper, found at Home Depot or Lowe's, for paper piecing. It comes in a 9" roll from which I cut printer-size pieces. It goes through the printer just fine, is almost translucent, and probably easier to remove than regular copy paper.

go to a staples they have newspaper print , you have to cut it to size just use rotary cutter make it the size for your printer it works great and it is real reasonable

for repetitive patterns this is the way to go.

Well, you'll never guess what I did today. I took a piece of the Carol Doak's foundation paper to a paper factory! They identified it as newsprint, slightly over 30 lbs., and sold me a 12" wide roll of the same stuff (exactly 30 lb) for $15! It's 1200 feet long, so cutting it down in 8.5" sheets will give me over 1600 sheets, costing a bit less than a penny each! It goes through the printer just fine, and I don't even have to cut off the extra inch in length. The paper comes out as usual. Score! I'm a happy, happy quilter.

:thumbup: Way to go!! Enjoy!

I you check on the "net" for the flip and sew method that uses freezer paper...you can adapt that method by using a children's glue stick to secure the fabric to the pattern, then you sew along the fold line NOT through the paper, flip, press, stick, trim and sew again. The pattern then peals off and can be used again, no pointy sewn papers to remove, you use less paper, fewer mistakes to rip because you see what you are sewing, can use a regular stitch length...it is the way to go. That roll of newsprint will supply an entire guild plus and you are saving trees as well.

This is interesting. I've never paper pieced before. It is in my "to do" list. But, Just haven't doe it yet. Thanks for the question.

If I bought a ream of 500 sheets from Dick Blick at the great price of $3.56, shipping would have been over $9 for me. Paper is heavy, and shipping is high. So you have a local source for newsprint, it's worth your while to look into buying from them. Besides paper factories, newspaper offices come to mind. They may have cheap or free newsprint remnants, and newspaper offices are everywhere.

Walmart has large sheets of newsprint in the packing and shipping aisle. It is flat folded like a fabric flat fold and in a plastic bag. I saw it on the bottom shelf with the shipping boxes.

I have been told that you can also use phone book pages.
Not sure if anyone has tired that, it might work best for do an string block instead of a detailed paper piecing pattern.

I bought several reams of newprint paper from Amazon that cost about $3.00 each -

I go to the dollar store and buy the doodle paper manila 9 x 12 for $1 a tablet .It is thinner that computer paper.It works great

I too use newsprint from Dick Blick. My old printer is not too thrilled over it, it prints very slow but prints out fine, just takes longer than using copy paper. Much easier to tear off.

Me too, the secret is dropping your stitch length in PP.

I use old phone book white pages. It's thin, but durable, you can see through it. When you press it becomes almost brittle for easy removal and it's FREE!! Just set your printer for a darker print image and it's easy to see. I've never had the ink rub off onto my fabric either.

You can also use the paper that is used on a doctor's examination table. It comes on rolls in different widths.

I wish we had a "like" button, because this is great information and I don't even paper piece! (Did it once, may do it again)

I use tracing paper and have not had a problem running it through the printer. It works fine for me!

What is the postage for shipping. I looked into another site and the postage was so much made it too expensive. Went back to regular copy paper. Thanks in advance