I am doing a Mariner's Compass version by using paper piecing. Depending on which magazine or book you read, there seemed to be not a concensus on when one should remove the paper.

I see by many of the fellow quilters' avatars that there are many experts in paper piecing foundation. What say you?

I'm not an expert by any means, but I was taught to remove the paper from the back of paper piecing.

Did you remove the paper after you have pieced your top together or before?

I remove it after the top is complete. It adds extra stability and it sure doesn't hurt. I really don't know why you'd want to remove it before and chance pulling bias seams out of whack.

My common sense told me the same thing, but I did read somewhere to remove the paper after you've finished sewing the pieces on the foundation and before sewing the blocks together. I think it might have to do with the inconvenence of removing the paper when the project is so large in a pieced top. I guess.

I have read that you remove the paper AFTER the top is done, so that's how I do it.

I only remove the small bits here and there, so they don't get trapped into the seams, making it difficult getting to them later.
I really like the additional stability of leaving them in until the whole top is ready to be sandwiched and quilted.

Carol Doak, who I consider the all time expert in PP, teaches that leaving the paper on until completion stabilizes those pesky bias edges. My blocks are more true since I've been doing that.
karen

I'm not sure what you're supposed to do. I removed it after finishing a block (all I had to do was add a border and it was ready to be batted, backed and quilted, so I didn't need that extra stability!).

I'm certainly no expert, but I was taught to remove after the back is complete. Keeps everything in it's proper place.

I was taught to remove the paper after the top is assembled, because the paper stabilizes it. So that's what I do, even though I really bad want to pull the paper out as soon as the block is done.

It depends on how thick the seams are going to be when trying to join the blocks together. I usually leave it in until the top is complete but if the machine starts bogging down; I remove it. It will also depend on what kind of paper was used. Regular copy paper is thick! The cheaper stuff is easier to deal with.

I am doing a flower garden with the hexagon paper pieces and it really does help to punch a hole in the center of the paper piece in order to get it out better. I wait till I have the entire top finished. I make my own paper pieces out of card stock.

I like to leave it in until the blocks are together, it stablizes some of those angled pieces and I like the line for to sew on. There are times when I am tearing off paper and I think 'I could leave a lot of this' But then I keep tearing. I do leave little bits if they don't rip cleanly. I also, will remove a little bit before then putting the blocks together espeically if its going to get trapped by connecting seams. I read a tip about using the back side of your seam ripper to score long the stitch line on the paper. It does make ripping it out a little easier.

I usually wait until I'm ready to sandwich it. I like the idea of not having to worry about the bias stretching.

I use freezer paper for my patterns so there is no paper to remove when the block is finished. Hated all those little bits of paper everywhere! With freezer paper you fold the pattern on the line then sew next to the paper instead of through the paper.

I really want to pull the paper out too especially since I keep coming across conflicting instructions about this step.

I read about doing foundation piecing this way. Eventually I want to try it. I had never done paper piecing before so I thought I should at least give it a try so I have something to compare to. Hey, I might find the old school of foundation piecing works better with my brain than the freezer paper foundation. Although, so far all whom I have met who had tried it, raves about it.

Well...you're not really receiving conflicting info. here. We're all saying the same thing.

As with most anything, there is no set rule. Do what works for you. I happen to remove when I finish a block. I tried leaving the paper on with one of my doll quilts and had a dickens of a time getting all the litte bits of paper from in between the seams out. Yes, I used more stitches to the inch so the perforations made it easier to tear, but it was a mess at the seams. I am no expert and have not done a large PP quilt so my opinion is probably not worth the paper it is written on. :roll:

you can remove the paper as you work along but the paper should be left until all pieces have been added to it...so as you finish a section and no more has to be added to the outer edges the inside papers can be removed...then when the whole project is pieced (before sandwich and quilting) remove the rest of the paper.
if it is a wall hanging/something that will not be washed; you can leave the papers in for added stability.

No, you are right. I am not really receiving conflicting information here on this board. I was referring to the magazines and pattern books I had referred to in my first entry on page one. I guess the word "conflicting" might be implying wrongly but that is how I feel when I read instructions on how to paper piece foundation one way and another source says to do it this way. That was why I started this to find out from others who had done more which was the best way. I had discovered for somethings, there are the way things are done in the real world and then there are the way things are done by the expert world. And to get tips.

For the first block I did what you did. I removed the paper because the instructions said so. I ran into the same problems as you did. I wondered if there was a better way and I wondered about the fabrics being unstable from stretching because no attention to the fabric's grain was heeded. That was when I came across instructions that was a little different. So I wondered which was the best way?

That is a very good idea. I will look to see if my Mariner's Compass version has sections that I can remove now. It will help tame my itch to remove. Thanks!

I do lots of paper piecing and always remove the paper after each section of a full pattern is done then sew the whole block together. It's way to hard to do it at the end of the project