Need Paper Piecing Help
 

On & off I've tried my hand at paper piecing. This month I'm going to paper piece my charity blocks but I'm having a really hard time trying to figure out how to cut my pieces without so much waste. I've messed up on quite a few blocks now by not cutting my pieces large enough to fit in the odd angle of the block. So now I am over compensating by cutting them way too big. Also, when I cut my pieces I have to remember that everything is backwards & I generally sew my pieces in the wrong place & again they don't fit. Ugh! I just finished a 1/4 of a block & discovered I reversed the colors on 2 pieces & now have to remake that block. Ugh! That mistake was because it's 10:30 p.m. & I'm getting tired. I should have waited until the a.m. to make it but I'm anxious to get this pp'ing down. I love the look of pp blocks but am having a really hard time at it. Do you know of any good you-tube links that I might watch? How do I not waste so much fabric? I need help!https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/wave.gif

Paper piecing is one of those things that I have yet to have my aha! moment. I have friends who are great, who have shown me, and I still have issues.

One thing I think helps a lot of people make the transition is the folded paper method where you don't actually sew on the paper. On my list of projects to do is one from this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Painless-Pape.../dp/0971450110

My Ah Ha! moment came when I started PP using Carol Doak's method of PP'ing. I got to a point where I was spot on every time. She offers a great deal of information and patterns on her web page, https://www.caroldoak.com/about.php . I now lay the pieces about 1/2" larger than the pieces I am piecing and then trim after stitching. I was pretty much a lost soul before being introduced to her method.

The only way I learned was through the Craftsy Class, QuickStrip Paper Piecing. It's a different technique, but it made sense to me when nothing else did and you can control the amount of waster once you get used to it.

Watson

The first thing I was told at my first pp class was pp will not save fabric. Measure your widest and longest part, add 1/2" and then cut that size rectangle. There is a ruler called Add Enough that is for paperpiecing, I have it but never figured it out. I prefer to overcut and get it done. I recommend Carol Doak's method to learn the basics. I took a Judy Niemeyer class and her way will tell you exact measurements but takes forever, hours of fussy prep work.

Add Enough ruler for paperpiecing.

https://www.quiltingbookspatternsand...products/24904

It's cheap because it is a thin non rigid type ruler. Mine feels like plastic paper.

Carol Doak is the ( Go to) instructor I usually send people to who want to learn the process. She shows you how to measure and cut your pieces and walks you through step ny step to wonderful designs. After learning with her it is one of my very favorite techniques.

Great question. I am new to paper piecing, and I have made the same mistakes as you. Lot of great tips.

Have you tried the craftsy class, Pain-Free Foundation Piecing- Paperless Paper Piecing:
Cutting the FabricCristy Fincher

I've tried paper piecing a few times, with limited success. There are some people that can whip anything out in a heartbeat using the method and there are others that just can't.

One thing that I just could not get over was the amount of fabric that was wasted. I'm not a miser, but to me, I value how much we spend on fabric for our quilts and I moved away from paper piecing. I just can't afford wasting that much fabric when I could easily just measure twice, cut once and make sure my seams are 1/4". If I make a mistake, I make a mistake and reach for my seam ripper.