How is paper used in quilting.....i'm not doing it but read where someone did and just wondering what it's about......i've gotten one square done we'll there's 24 of them....so tense doing this and don't know how to relax.....the next day i hurt all over lol

It is called PAPER PIECING. This method is normally used for very intricate pieced blocks. I have tried paper piecing and at this point am not a big fan. Many people are, but so far it's not quite for me.

Basically, you are sewing upside down and backwards.

There are several good books about paper piecing. My suggestion is any book by Carol Doak.

THANK YOU

Crashnquilt - wish you were closer to me. I'd give you my Mariner's Compass is a day workshop - one-on-one! I just taught 10 ladies from my guild and some of them are newbies a& some just hadn't done any paper piecing, but all have their compasses set into the setting square by the end of the day! I even converted one lady who swore she hated paper piecing into a lover of it! Once you get the hang of it, you'd be hooked. The precision is what I love most about it. My avatar is PPd.

Don't give up. If you can take a workshop, I think youmight come to love it, too. Sometimes just having someone else there to help walk you through the process can make a huge difference.

I don't care for PP at all. Just to many steps I guess. Then there is the tear away. To easy to pull a stitch etc. Just not a fan.

Those are beautiful. Maybe if I had a great teacher, I would learn to love it.

I think Paper piecing is something every quilter should try. You may not want to make a whole quilt that way, but it sometimes helps with blocks that require precision.
I agree with a previous poster that a great place to start is with a Carol Doak book, I agree, but caution not to just pick any Carol Doak book, but instead a more beginner one. Some of her books I found more difficult because the pieces were very tiny.

Or you might try Judy Mathieson's method. I don't know if she has a book (will have to look into that) but saw her on The Quilt Show and think I am going to try it.

They say you either love it or hate it. I have never tried it. I am starting a nine month class on Tue. I sure hope I like it.
I will post a picture when I finish a block.

9 month class! Good luck!

Thanks, I may need it. If I don't like it I don't have to keep on doing it....

There are several ways to use paper in quilting. I don't care for paper pieceing, but like someone else said you either love it or hate it. Another way to use paper in quilting is English Paper Piecing. Now, that I love! It is hand work, but some people are really turned off with hand work....My avatar is EPP, and all done by hand. Some people use Freezer Paper to do applique.....either by hand or machine.

I've made four paper pieced quilts and just began a fifth. There's no other way I'd make a block with such small shapes if it wasn't paper pieced. Precision is what they turn out like. Each block is usually within 1/4" the same as the next one. You shorten up your stitch length so tearing off the paper isn't difficult, since it's been perforated by the stitches already. I usually do a pile at a time, with a bowl in my lap (to catch the tiny bits of paper) and listen to music or the TV, while I tear away.