paper piecing help
 

Hello everyone!

I'm pretty proficient in PP - i have made the bali star double wedding ring quilt, so I'm a confident PP'er.

I want to do PP for two blocks - snail trail and 8 point star

One is the snail trail and the one I want has a center with four squares. Do I have to do the two squares separately and then join them on the PP template? I can't figure out how to sew the four squares together on the template.

The second block is 8 diamonds - again I can figure out how to sew the diamonds together, but then at each corner is a square, and then half squares ... how do you do Y-seams in PP ... or can you LOL

Thanks in advance!

For the 4-patch center you can create your 4-patch then put it on the pattern as if the center was just a square. The diamond sections I’m really not understanding. Is your paper piece pattern numbered/ lettered to show the order to apply your pieces? If not I would make an extra pattern then cut it all apart - number how it goes back together. I’ve done literally hundreds ( maybe thousands) of paper pieced blocks- I’ve never had one need a y- seam-

For the Snail Trail - I would sew the four center squares together and then treat them as "one" square .

The eight diamond star - I refer to it as a LeMoyne star - perhaps could be paper pieced in half if one is willing to add additional seams to the "setting squares" and "setting triangles"

i found a tutorial once on doing Y seams in paper piecing. but it made absolutely no sense to me. of course, I was trying to do it during my first ever paper piecing attempt, so maybe that is why I had no clue what I was doing!
All that to say, somewhere out there, someone thinks it is possible.....

A couple of the blocks I made for my Farmer's Wife 1930 had y seams. Basically did it the same way as without the paper. It was tedious but doable.

Ditto to the others ....
4P ... I too, would probably complete regularly, then put it on the PP being careful to get it smack-dab-in-the-right-place!

Y-seams ... yup, can be done! Fiddly as all get out, but totally rewarding when you finish.
The other option is to cut the triangle of the Y in half, to give you a straight line seam through the background. KWIM? In the end, the same look, but no Y-seam to do. But the background now has that seam instead of being totally plain.

Curves ... no you did not ask about them, but being that some folks will tell you you can't do them in PPing (as with y-seams) just wanted to reassure you for when the time comes, that yes-you-can!!!! Been there, done that. Yes again, fiddly ....... but was ever so happy with the results! Obviously, I don't listen well when people tell me I can't do something!!! And I have a feeling that you are much the same MarionQuilts!!

Thanks All ... QuiltE ... yes, you are right ... I don't listen too well when someone says you can't do it LOL

I want to do it in PP because the points are just freaking perfect LOL ...

I might just cut the block in half, that would make it easier ...

Thanks again

hahaha!! We are like two peas in a pod! ...... on all three counts!!!!!
I often say that PPing made me a lazy quilter, as it was just kind of like dot-to-dot and abracadam, perfect points!!! :)

Then there are the countless times I just go ahead and do things in total naivete, only to be told later, it can't be done. Heck, I knew no different so had no fears and Just Did It!!!!!

Here is a template for a paper pieced Lemoyne star, which I hope is what you mean by the 8 diamonds.

http://www.amc-quilts.com/uploads/26_LeMoyneStar.pdf

For the snail’s trail, I would prepiece the four square units, then add them to the template as a unit.

Thank you Krisb ... that is exactly what I meant!