I am new to paper piecing. This is only my second attempt. I will admit I shouldn't have printed the pattern on green paper and I should only paper piece when I have natural light to work with.

My question: is there a trick to angles? No matter how much I mussed or fussed last night I couldn't get this to work.

Also please ignore the fabric - after many attempts I ran out of the one fabric :(

Can you give a bit more detail as I can't see anything wrong with the angles, from here.

One thing I did was to make sure I used really oversized pieces. The other thing I have tried is to precut my piece about 1 inch larger but keeping the final shape. The trick is remembering that you are working from the back, so you need to reverse the fabric when you are finding a piece to add on. Good luck. Once I figured out the basics, I really enjoy paper piecing.

If you are talking about the pieces being too short, I was taught to measure the longest and widest part of the piece I am about to add and add one inch to the fabric.

Also I prefold all my paper before starting to paper piece. It takes some time but is so worth it. That way you can actually fold the paper back to see if your fabric will extend far enough past the ends of the piece you are adding and allow you to adjust before stitching.

At the bottom (or anywhere actually, but the bottom is the worst)- you shouldn't be seeing any green :)

It looks like you are cutting your pieces too small, as the previous ladies have said, cut your pieces oversize, way oversize and that should correct your problem.

I had the same problem, cutting too small. You will get there!

Agree - too small pieces - don't try to cut it in an 'exact shape' to fit.
Also line everything up like you're going to sew on the line except 'pin sew' it on the line and then flip the fabric over to see if the piece will fill in where it should. This trick has saved me lots of unsewing! :)

The top part looks GREAT!

[quote=scowlkat Also I prefold all my paper before starting to paper piece. It takes some time but is so worth it. That way you can actually fold the paper back to see if your fabric will extend far enough past the ends of the piece you are adding and allow you to adjust before stitching.[/quote]

This is what I find most useful - only I prefold one line at a time - the line I will be sewing on next. I put my new piece 1/4" above that line which is in fact the seam line - then I flip it to right side to see if all area is covered before I sew.

This works for me also.

I agree wit the others that you are cutting too small. when you are learning it is so important to give your self a large margin of error when cutting the pieces. One trick I learned that helped me to overcome the too small to cover mistake . .. is hold the paper up to the light and flip the fabric to where it will fold over when done.... this helps you to keep from making a error in the size and placement. Place the printed side toward you so you can see the stitch lines . I found it very helpful in teaching me to get the "flip" concept and train my brain to visualize the peice when its folded over for the next piece. I did this alot when I started , and still do it when its been awhile since my last paper peiced project. I also do it to check before the next piece to just make double sure I got it .
When learning PP... give yourself much bigger pieces. when I first started I did not want to cut the larger preices as it was going to waste too much fabric. But I finally gave mself permission since the cost of the mistakes was getting in the way of success.

You're doing great and definitely getting the hang of it. I hold my paper up to the light and "pretend sew" and flip to see if I'm covering everything (especially the outer seam allowance). And I use big hunks o' fabric!

You'll get it. Paper piecing is challenging.

Thank you everyone! I cut the material to the directions but guess I better allow extra :)

I am also going to try the the "pin sewing" method until I get a better grasp.

Keep the ideas, tips and hints coming, please, I will be in need of them as I progress toward bigger projects.

You can use wash out glue stick to hold in place. :thumbup:

Nothing new for tips here. Looks like you are doing good job other than sizing pieces. Hang in there it gets better. I just love the precision of PP.

There is a ruler just for cutting fabric the size needed for paper piecing blocks. It's called Add Enough. It's inexpensive. It has saved me a lot of frustration.

http://www.addaquarter.com/products.php

If you go to www.quilterscache.com there is a tutorial on paper piecing. Marcia Hohn has a lot of paper piecing patterns and I use her site a lot. The site is free and really great.

starting to paper piece you waste alot of fabric...the first attempt i made i cut off so much fabric i was very frustrated...didn't like the waste...didn't try it again for a couple years...but it got easier, and less wasteful as i got the hang of it...to start though...you need to use large pieces of fabric...the 1/4" ruler really helps (you fold the paper on the stitching line...line up the ruler and trim perfect 1/4" then you have a line to line up the next piece.
your block looks pretty good, i see where your problem is and just use really over sized pieces until you get the hang of those angles...as you do each successive block it will be easier and easier and you will not waste so much...and really...doesn't have to be a waste...put those trimmings into a basket and use them for applique projects...or pass them on to someone who would love to be creative with them :thumbup:

I will always take your "trimmings" Connie. :) Reading this topic has helped me decide to try paper piecing again. I had put it off for a bit but it might be my "new technique" for 2011.

Don't give up, you can see, we all have made the same mistakes too. Be gentle on yourself, you are doing fine.

Looks like you have a good start. Using bigger pieces of fabric should solve a lot of the issue.
Carol Doak has several great books out on paper piecing, which may be of help to you. Maybe also check out her website. :)

I've done quite a bit of paper piecing. Every once in a while you run across an angle that is so severe it's almost impossible to use a smaller piece of fabric and have it cover.

I did all the above tips when I taught myself how to paper piece plus some. I purposely used see-through paper so I could see that the fabric was going to cover. I also cut up some foundations to use as templates to make sure I got the angles correct & cut large chunks to make sure I had enough fabric. Cutting up the foundations to make templates helped me the most but I hate template cutting and only resort to it for those oddball angles.

I crease all my seam lines before I start so I can make sure the fabric will cover and I trim each seam before attaching the next piece. I also use glue instead of pins for the sub units. I will pin intersections of sub-units but I try to fold back or pull the paper out of the seam lines before I do that.

I also had to use the see through paper or trace the lines & numbers on both sides of the paper so I wouldn't get confused.

Triangles are the hardest for me, especially big ones. Everyone is right about cutting generously - I also put a couple of pins where the seam line will be - not perpendicular to it, as if I'm going to piece, but pins to mimic the stitches I'm about to make, then fold the fabric over and hold it up to the light to make sure it will actually cover what I want it to with an adequate seam allowance as well. If not I reposition and try again or cut a new piece of fabric. This saves a lot of ripped stitches.

The more confident I become of my paper piecing, the less I have to pre-test.

i saw a tute once that may help...she had an extra copy of her pattern that she cut apart. then she put each piece on the fabric and cut the shape with a 1/2" seam allowance. that way you won't be wasting a lot of fabric but you won't be using pieces too short either. after you sew each piece on, you trim down the seam to 1/4" to reduce the bulk.

Here is a tute I made for PP. I show how to use one of the foundations for templates.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-25541-1.htm

1. Make sure ALL of the fabric is right side up, when cutting multiple pieces. (or they will be mirror imaged and useless)

2. When you cut out the foundation pieces for templates, the unprinted side of the template lays face up, on top of the right side of the fabric. (or they will be mirror imaged and useless)

3. Cut each piece with a 3/8" - 1/2" seam allowance

4. Chain piece your blocks. It is less confusing to sew all of one piece on, than to bounce back and forth :wink:
Pin the first few pieces to sewing side, on the sew lines to make sure you are lining them up correctly, then leave one of those out as a guide to how you need to lay the fabric on the next ones :D:D:D

I thought paper pieicing looked so interesting but I just couldn't get the hang of it so I ordered Carol Doak's Teaches You to Paper Piece DVD and it was like magic, after watching it everything made sense. I also ordered the add a quarter ruler and it makes all the difference. I noticed that she even has it on sale this month for $16.95.
It's just like everything else it takes time but looks so good when you get it

Amma, thank you for the link to your tutorial. I will reference back to it when struggling.

I do have Carol Doak's "Show Me How to Paper Piece". The project in that was very clean lined and easy to do. Last night (and perhaps I was too tired) I just couldn't get it to work :)

Thanks to all of this fantastic help I will be able to accomplish more tonight when I get home :) Will post pics.

I taught myself using Judy Mathieson's Mariners Compss book. Generous peices pre-cut, freezer paper template, folded back to sew against the edge, and hold up to the light with each piece added to make sure it covers.

Is the bottom missing another piece or were they cut too small? I know it's confusing when you first start with PP, my pieces were forever either too small or backwards. Stay with it and it really does get easier.

Tried two more tonight.

Try two has a mistake, you can see it in the upper left corner.

Try three has a tiny mistake...can you see it?

natural light is great but i quilt in my basement with no window in my sewing room. i just hold my PP pattern up to the ceiling light to see through it.
look at Carol Doak's site for free PP patterns. that should help you.
your 3rd attempt was great!!!!

i havent had good luck paper piecing either

Conniequilts, I think I can see the tiny mistake on the 3rd one but remember you can always add a piece of material on, in the whole of it, it won't show.

Good on ya for keep on trying, your efforts are lovely.

It seems to me you placed the blue pieces "backwards". TURN your pieces around (bottom up)- match the long edges with the OUTER edges of background pieces ,make sure your fabrics are placed right sides together. This looks like a Carol Doak pattern, she always gives generous cutting measurements.Retry with some solid color first, your eyes will soon learn to tell which way the pieces go. I practiced with 90¤ angle triangles until my brain got conditioned!

Don't cut your pieces to shape. Cut strips. Normally I have found 3" stripes work the best. Then cut the strip off after your done piecing each section..

But alway always always make sure your piece is much larger than your section.

Get a good portable light source and hold the unit up to the light. Cut your piece out and hold it up so it is in the position it will be in after it is sewn. If it fits, flip it and sew along the line. After you're done, hold it to the light again to see if it worked. You'll need to cut your pieces bigger at first until you get used to what you're doing, but it's worth it in the end because everything's perfect. I've found that the light is the key to the whole thing.

I've never paper-pieced, so, I can't add a thing. Sorry. I think this may be why I've never tried. I'd like to learn though, so, here I am reading all the answers to your question. Maybe we'll both learn something.

I agree with Cathy. When there are angles, I pre cut my fabric to the basic shape, but add about an inch all around. that usually works.

This step is a bit of extra work, but Judy Neimeyer suggests that you trace the cutting lines on the backside of your paper pieces. That way you can try out a piece of fabric to see if it will fit without having to hold the paper up and measuring. It works for me!

That is the only thing I see wrong with yours---the pieces are too short to cover the pattern. Your points are good and sharp. That is the reason I love pp.

Good luck
Roxanne