Paper piecing problem
 

I recently downloaded this free pattern from Crafty, it is a Traceyjay pattern... As you can see by the photos I am having a problem.... how do I get rid of all that bulk at the points.... seems one side is lower that other, although everything measures the same... Any help is greatly appreciated.

Will be waiting to see what the other experts advise on the bulk, but had to say what lovely start you have with that fabric!

I agree with Tartan.

Although you normally leave the paper on till the very end, I would CAREFULLY remove the paper from the centers. You don't have to remove it all, just an inch or so from the center. Then see if you can fan the points like you have started in the last photo.
A bigger potential issue is that I'm pretty sure that before your final seam you should have 2 perfect rectangles. If you look at the bottom piece in the 3rd photo, you can see that the seam allowance has a big jog in it. I haven't done this specific pattern, but have done similar and this last seam has always been a straight line across the 2 halves. Check your pattern to see, as this one may be different.
And finally, I would take the Carol Doak's "mastering foundation paper piecing" course on Craftsy. Great class!

All the infor so far has been good. I will almost never do more then 8 points meeting. If all else fails and you can't make it work I would cut a half circle out of the center and put a half circle in each side (piece ) or a whole circle (applique) a'la Dresden plate style. It will change the look a bit, but a perfect circle center will look much better then a bad point match. Good luck

I agree with PaperPrincess. Try removing paper from the seam allowance where the points meet (about a half inch should work). It will get rid of some of the bulk and after it's sewn getting all the paper out out can be really difficult. I'm still fairly new to paper piecing but the teacher at the club I go to is very, very good and gave me the suggestions and it really helped. It's hard to tell how accurate the picture is but I also agree that the finished halves don't look quite straight. Tartan suggested pressing the seams open and that should help too

It's a beautiful block and I love the fabric choices!

Great advice from all posters. One thing I've found helps is to press all your seams open when joining the segments together; this allows them to lay flat and keeps that big lump from forming in the center.

I just finished pp Carol Doak's 50 Fab PP Stars--they all had 8 sections coming together and I didn't have the lump/bulk problem just by pressing my seams open. I'd visit her website--lots of great advice.

Other things I would do:

First take out the last seam on both rectangles to return it to 4 quarters.

Then iron all the seams apart - I would first fold the paper along those seams and remove JUST the outside paper so I could get a flatter ironing.

Then I would tear away the very centre paper of the segments which have the outside sewing line printed on, and also a larger area of the inner segments which do not have an outside seam to be sewn. This is all to reduce bulk. If necessary I would redraw the sewing line with an erasable marker. Any dog-ears can come off too lol.

Then on to the re-sewing. As Tartan mentioned, don't sew across the very centre. However DO start your sewing at the middle and sew towards the outside - that way the centre will not have any chance to shift. A couple of reverse stitches will anchor the seam end.

If your outer join matches are a problem, then you could perhaps baste the joins before doing the whole seam, to keep them aligned.

If all else fails and the fabric is too stretched to match up easily again, then I would fold back all the joining seam papers (leaving the other paper in place), match the joins up with a bit of easing from the unstreched side, and then steam and block the unit square afterwards, using the remaining papers as a reference.

Good luck, hope it comes together for you :-)
cheers, K

I always stay away from patterns especially PP that have TOO MANY seams merging into one point. There is always going to be the problem of bulk. It is difficult with PP to keep the seams open. Tartans suggestion sounds like the best way to go.