1. Starch your fabric before doing your piecing that way it has some stability when you tear it off the paper
2. Use a size 90 needle
3. The Satin Stich foot is the best one to use for paper piecing
if u do not have one then make sure it is an open toe
4. Stich size is 1.75 tight but not to tight if u need rip out
5. You can chain piece all your pattern pieces when doing your #1 and #2 fabrics
saves u time and all done at the same time
when you do the other pieces u can butt up and keeping sewing
6. if u have a sharp point before u get to the sharp pt sew one stich line in and your pt will be perfect
7. if u need to rip out a piece use scotch tape on the pattern size and rip out fabric from one side this way you do not rip your pattern apart and can reuse
8. when pinning your block together use extra fine pins
9. Use the 4 "p" method position, pinch to get your seams together, peek and pin
10. Baste your block before u sew together. How u do this is use a big stich and do a feww stiches skip a area and sew again check that seams match and then go back and sew with regular stitch
11. open seaqms to help your pattern lay flat


These are a few tips I have learned over the times from friends and experience. You are welcome to add more tips u want to
share
lets' have fun paper piecing
:-D :-D :D :D

Thank you for the good tips! I'll bookmark this as I do enjoy PP!

Thanks!!!

:thumbup:

No need to starch, a size 70 microtex needle,(much finer than a 90) 60wt thread, newsprint paper, 1.5 stitch, scotch magic tape for fixing rip outs, 1/8" seams, stitch PAST the end line to help lock in the next line even on the outside lines!
Leave the paper ON when joining the blocks, or stay stitch the outside lines before taking it off! This helps the block retain its shape!
The Add-a-quarter rulers will save you time, money and frustration!
A mini iron is your best friend!
And a mini rotary cutter is not a bad thing either!

when dealing with Miniature work use a foundation like muslin or fun-da-tion interfacing and leave it in! I always use this for ornaments and decor items as it acts like a stabilizer as well!

Wonderful tips! I recently discovered that coffee filters work great for paper piecing/tears away wonderfully and easy to see through.

A couple of you mentioned Scotch tape. Scotch makes a REMOVABLE tape that I discoverd in classes with Carol Doak. What makes it great is that you can iron on it unlike the magic tape. It comes in blue packaging and the only place I have located it is in office supply stores like Stapes, Office Depot. In case some of uou are wondering about why we need tape, it is for when a mitake is made and the seam has to be taken apart. The tape holds the paper together abd you place it on the seam thT is going to be taken out.I also buy dozens of the mini seam rippers from www.tooltron.com. They are little surgical blades that make quick work of ripping out those tiny stitches. Ask me how I know all this! From lots of frog stitching!

Thanks. Bookmarked

Make a copy of your pattern - write your colors on that copy -- then make all the other copies you need so they are all marked with the proper colors. Makes it easier so you don't get confused as to what goes where.

Cut your pieces out BIGGER than you think you'll need them, especially when doing corners or angles.

Some suggested getting your paper damp to remove it -- I found it to be much harder to remove if it was damp...I like it better dry.

Do go past the edge of your sewing line...makes life easier as pointed out.

If you make templates, put all the pieces back into a baggie and paperclip/staple it to your master pattern so you have it on hand the next time.

Take a picture of each of the possible arrangements if you have sections to piece together (like 4 pieces to make a square) so you can see which way you like the colors better...you don't have to always do it like they show you in the directions.

Thanks for the tip. I think I will try to do paper piecing now.

THANK YOU ALL FOR THESE TIPS!

While I've not yet taken the plunge into paper piecing, I'm pretty sure it's in my future. I've bookmarked this exchange.

Don't understand #6, can you explain it more clearly to a dummy like me

Thanks Chicca, but how do I get them in my printer? Just had to ask. BrendaK

Thank you for all the great tips!

#6 for example if u are doing a New York Beauty and it has sharp points and u want them to come out really sharp as you almost get to the pt goinside the sew line a few threads and when you open it it is alligned and makes a good point
points have very little space give it some room to fold fabric over

tip # 12
use 20 weight copy paper, easy to tear but need good lighting when working with it due to being difficult to see through

#13
use tweezers to pick up paper fragments

#14
typing paper is thinner and more transparent but less durable but easier to remove, use shorter stiches if using this paper

#15
once you master paper piecing you can experiment with other types of fabric other than cotton

#16
to avoid staining your ironing board cover w/ ink when pressing use a muslin piece to iron on

#17
the less bulk the ironing board has the better to press on
flatter surfaces are better for paper piecing

#18
prewash fabric is the best to avoid dye stains and shrinkage

#19
cut each strip at least 1/2 inch wider than needed may waste some fabric but saves you time in the long run

if using 1/2 triangle shapes cut 1 inch larger than needed
1/4 inch triangles 1 1/2 inch bigger than needed

#20
photocopies can get distorted make 1 copy and check for accuracy by using originalnal
for copying a pattern always use orignal and not a copy of a copy
use the same machine because each one is different

#21
I use my fingers to press or a clover mini iron found that works best
no water or steam to mess with
avoid tucks by pressing well

Ok. A little dense here. On #6 sewing points, do you mean go a stitch or so past the end of the point or stop a stitch or so before the end of the point??

Great help, going to be starting a mariners compass soon. Thansk a bunch.

Also not sure about #6. My interpretation is when you get to the last 2 or 3 stitches from the end of the point, instead of stitching on the stitching line - stitch to the left of the stitching line on the side of the piece. Which would result in the seam allowance being just a few threads wider. Please correct me if this is wrong. Thank You

[quote=moonwork42029]Make a copy of your pattern - write your colors on that copy -- then make all the other copies you need so they are all marked with the proper colors. Makes it easier so you don't get confused as to what goes where.
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This tip is great!! Why did I never think of it but just keep mixing up colors and pieces and removing those tiny stitches??? :) Thanks so much!!

one u are correct before u get to the point sew outside the sewing line on the left side to leave u a bit of space to tuen over the fabric

Alex Anderson has a good book on paper piecing and Peggy Martin has a good DVD w/ good instructions
My friends also have given me good tips since we are paper piecing parts of our mystery blocks
now let's show what blocks we have made with pp and continue w/ more tips

thanks, now I understand. I never read that before.

GR-8 tips! Bookmarking this. Thanks!

Ok. Thanks. Think I got it now.

add more tips u have learned
love to hear from others!!!!!!

Tip... there's no harm or foul in "basting" your pieces and double checking if they line up before you really sew them. BE sure to remove the basting stitches so it doesn't make the back look too ugly bugly.