Some year I'm going to do a tumbling blocks quilt. The prettiest one I've seen uses paper piecing (I don't care for the strip method because I don't want seams on the block "tops"). So I'm wondering if its terribly difficult or just moderately annoying? Anybody really like it?

love it

I am in the process of learning to PP "Thank You Quilt "moms" I hate the mess it makes from all the little pieces and I hate picking out all that paper but the blocks are beautiful when they are done, So I have to say I have a love hate relationship with it. I am currently looking for something for paper that is easy to pick out- probably no such thing, I used June Taylor and is is like interfacing I have some Carol Doaks that is like newsprint. It didn't help my block had 20 units to it!

I love it. It's a little difficult at first but not bad. I did a king size quilt doing paper piece, 120 blocks, 8 inch blocks.

I love to paper piece and I don't usually have any paper to "pick out". I use a very small stitch, and when I am ready to remove the paper, I just fold it along the stitch line first and then it tears right off, leaving nothing behind to have to pick out.

I also used a very small stitch but being new, Picking stitches out of those pieces is a bugger maybe it was the type of paper I used. I broke 2 seam rippers ripping stitches.

I love freezer paper piecing. It irons on and you don't sew through it, so you can use normal stitch length and simply peel it off afterwards. There's a great tutorial here:

http://www.twiddletails.com/store/in...age=page&id=21

Freezer paper piecing is the method Judy Mathieson now recommends in her book Mariner's Compass - Setting a New Course. One difference to the tute above: she stacks several pieces of freezer paper and sews through them with her machine with an unthreaded needle. The perforation does the same thing as making creases as in the tute, except you catch several layers at once.

I tried traditional foundation piecing (the one with sewing through the paper) once. Hated it. With a passion.
Little pieces to pick out between seams in every sharp point; the foundation coming apart every time I needed to take out a seam... well it tears easily, that's the point isn't it... but for me at least it didn't hold up when I used my seam ripper.

I have learned it, still practicing it, maybe eventually I'll love it. Right now I do like the result, although it still seems clumsy to me, but it's my clumsiness. So, again, with practice.....

You can't beat the points you get from PP. If you use a small stitch and cheapie paper, it's not even so bad tearing paper. It is messy, but nothing a broom can handle.

PP is beautiful but it scares me to death :lol: :lol:

I love doing PP feathered stars!

I just learned to PP last week, and i am addicted!!

Gosh guys, thanks! Printed a "how-to" from Quilter's Cache and it seems like more work than actual difficulty. I'm sure willing to give it a try. They suggest using a big needle to sew the "papers" on the seam line to make it easy to tear off. I was thinking of freezer paper, too. Will just have to try it!

I made a quilt for my son using PP. The points came out great and I was pleased with the end result. However, picking out all the little paper pieces drove me nuts. I think next time I will try freezer paper and smaller stitches, like some of you have suggested.

Good luck Kitsie!! Have fun. I'm a beginner and with this, I can make blocks I couldn't otherwise piece corectly to save my life. :-D

I love it!!! Fold the paper over and score it with your finger nail, then tear it off :D I just use cheap copy paper and it tears right off. If I see a little bitty paper triangle in the seam line, I remove them before they get buried... removing those little pieces early, doesn't hurt the block any :wink:

I love to paper piece! Once you get the hang of it the precision you get is worth the effort :D

Love pp. Once you get the hang of it, it is so easy.

PP is something I want to try, but it scares me!!!

I like paper piecing because of the precision that is possible. If you use a small stitch and cheap paper it isn't too hard to remove the paper.
They now have water soluble foundation paper. It is more expensive than cheap copier paper, but it just might be worh the expense.

http://www.createforless.com/Collins...utm_medium=cse

Thanks a lot JanetM. Just might be great for a first trial. Seems that $8.49 for 10 sheets is the going price.

I started a pp quilt because I loved the pattern and there's no other way to piece the intricate blocks. But I am not enjoying it. It's getting easier the more I work on it, but it's slow and tedious and then there's the paper to rip off when it's done. I too, would like to try the freezer paper method where you fold it and sew next to it instead of sewing through it. When I get the project out again, I may try it with the next block. I do intend to pp one more block for another quilt (a mariner's compass) just to get those sharp points, but then I probably won't do it again! LOL

It is pricey. If I were making a wallhanging that had very sharp points, or very small areas I would give this foundation paper serious consideration but a quilt would be too expensive. I am not bothered by picking out the paper so I will continue to use cheap copier paper.

I love paper piecing. I'm looking for books all over. Anyone have one they want to part with? PM me!!

I love to PP. I'm working on one now. Well, as soon as I get off the computer...............LOL

I read the Freezer Paper method and thought if it takes 5 pages to explain it, its not for me! I do get the idea, but I'll try the normal way first. My Tumbling Blocks quilt dream is turning into a drink coaster!

I think tracing paper is the best for PP. It is Opaque, and very easy to tear off. I bought some vellum, but it is too heavy. I think a very light weight vellum would work better. I like the idea that I can see thru it and place my fabrics right.

Right now, I hate it! I guess because it is akward for me.

I have learned it and love it. And I am going to try the freezer paper method too. Love the tutorial salmonsweet put on here. Thank you.

I hate the process but love the results. I just finished a storm at sea that I know would not have turned out nearly as well if I didn't PP it.

I use do-sew for PP and don't remove it. It's very lightweight - I just copy the patterns onto the do-sew using a sharpie and then leave it in when the block is done.

I agree - you can get better points with paper piecing. I've attached photos of my first attempt at doing a Carol Doak Challenge with the quilt attached. Tons and tons of points.

I also attached a practice piece I did first - the 4th of July placemat. Both were fun to do and I love pp. I'm not that great in the cutting area, so this works out beautifully for me.

Since on a limited budget I buy the newspaper pads from craft store (using coupon of course). I learned to buy the large -somthing like 10x16 pad - then cut each page in half again and you get double the amount for pennies. With a paper cutter this goes very fast and my type of cost.

I also put my stitches at 1.5 and the paper tears wonderfully. When joining larger blocks I use a 3.5 or 4 stitch length the first time to make doubly sure the points meet, then do it again with the 1.5 stitch length.

Karen

Karen -- Beautiful quilt!!!!

And thanks for the tip about using the newsprint pad. So it goes through your copier/printer okay (after cutting)? :D

The newspaper pads are a great idea! The paper is pretty flimsy and low quality so it would come out easily. How clever of you!

LOVE IT!

I have 2 printers, one is HP and the other is a Dell that we were going to throw away, then I realized that I could just set the Dell up in an out of the way place and use it strictly for the newspaper pad paper (no need for wireless or computer hook up - I just lay the pp pattern on the flatbead and copy and can enlarge or reduce size right ther on printer).
If I use the HP I have to make sure the paper is cut perfectly, but with the Dell, because it has a drawer type set up for paper you can cut a bit off and it doesn't matter.
This style paper works for me just great and like I said the cost is perfect for me and like you said he paper is thin so it tears very nicely.
Karen

I'm with Salmonsweet; I tried the 'regular' method of pp and was ready to try something else when I learned the method of sewing beside the folded paper and not through it. What a difference!! Now I LOVE paperpiecing.

I'll try to attach a pic of a wall hanging I did with a lot of pp blocks in it. Some of them I found on the web, others I designed myself. I had so much fun with this; the blocks depict all the birds/animals you might see in my backyard habitat. It hangs on our wall now so I can still enjoy the habitat in the winter when it's too cold to be out there.
Dusty in Colorado

Paper piecing is how I started quilting. I don't think Tumbling Blocks is going to work with foundation piecing, however. I think you must mean English Paper Piecing like Grandmother's Flower Garden--where you baste the fabric around a template and whip stitch the pieces together. The paper/plastic/mylar/cardboard template just pops out after you get all the adjoining pieces connected. It's a fun take-along project. As for foundation paper piecing, I've found cheap typing paper but I had trouble finding it so switched to news print. I crease the sewing lines before stitching and I use a smaller than normal stitch length (about a 2.0) I don't have a problem picking out little pieces unless I use copy paper. The flimsier the paper, the less fuss & muss to get it out. I haven't tried the freezer paper method yet but have seen it demonstrated & agree that it would be much easier for some projects like flying geese.

Beverly in Missouri

Kaye Wood has everything you need to make the "tumbling blocks. Lots of fun.

Kaye Wood has everything you need to make the "tumbling blocks. Lots of fun.

A novice's question....Why can't you use a thin muslin instead of the paper and NOT take it out when finished??????Is BULK the only reason? If that's it, I'd rather have the teeny extra bulk without the tearing out. Tell me please but be kind!!!Thanks