Question about string piecing
 

I just made my first 12 string pieced blocks. Fun!!

I used shiny store ads for the foundation. I cut the paper a little larger than I wanted the blocks and then trimmed.

My issue is when I peeled off the paper, I could see the stitches at the edges were getting loose.

This first project is just a utility quilt so no worries. But what is the proper way to do it in the future?

Should I make my foundation the exact size I want and lock the stitches at the beginning and end?

Thanks for all advice.

I think your answer is to use less "tough" paper (most suggest using old phone books) and a shorter (tighter) stitch

Ah, like paper piecing. That makes sense.

I use tissue paper and don't bother removing it. It disintegrates and disappears when you wash the quilt.

Cari

Hold the phone. The paper disappears somewhere inside the quilt?? How does that happen?? That sounds so great!

(Perhaps I should hold a small piece of tissue paper underwater and see what happens to it....)

It disappears into the great unknown leaving nothing inside the quilt. It's cheap too if you buy it at the dollar store.

Cari

I am using paper I had from making tamales. I found it when cleaning out the kitchen and I think it is the same as deli paper and which some quilters said they use. I have made my first 14 blocks and the paper came off pretty easy.

If I use paper as the base for strings then I finish off by sewing 1/8" all around the edge so that everything is locked in before I tear the paper. Usually I use muslin as my foundation squares.

I've been in a string block swap & one day (u know 1 day is not a day of the week?!) I hope to make a quilt. Sooo easy & great way to try!! to decrease stashes...

Tighter stitches are recommended for paper piecing but I hate removing the paper. It's messy and tedious. I've done it with no foundation. Just make the block bigger and square it up. Of course, this wouldn't work for a real precise design but for utility quilts it works great for me.

I use telephone or similar lite paper. I don't cut the block to correct size until after I remove papers......also smaller stitches...and before I tear, I run the point of a pin lightly across the stitches..seems to help break apart the fibers of the paper and less stress on thread....along with holding the stitch line with opposing thumb as you tear....moving it as you tear. It may sound like a lot of concentrated work, but when you do it enough, it just becomes "part of the process"--- at least for me, it does.

Stitch a 1/8 seam around before you tear off the paper. I sew mine into rows first. Then sew around entire row and then tear off paper.

Thanks for all the great advice! I'm going to have to play around with Cari's disappearing tissue paper idea. That sounds so easy.

most foundation piecing works better if you shorten your stitch length, I use about 1.5 when paper piecing. Another trick I learned not long ago, lay a ruler next to (almost on) the line you tearing, it keeps the fabric and stitches in place while you are pulling on the paper...

I do freezer paper fold bk pp'ing that u use over and over without sewing on the paper.

wow I never thought of that, I have been using telephone book paper. I'll have to try tissue paper. thanks for the suggestion

Shorter stitches stay tighter at the edges, and also make it easier to tear off the paper.
I am currently using squares cut from an old phone book. They tear nicely with short stitches, but I mightn't trust the ink if I were sewing light or white fabrics.

I use parchment paper that I picked up at the dollar store and use a 1.8 stitch length.

I always stitch 1/8" around any edge whether it be a block or border that has a lot of seams ending there. It holds everything together and the stitching is hidden in the seam allowance.
As for paper I use inexpensive newsprint that I get off Amazon but it is available other places as well.

If you have a thrift store near you look for old Simplicity or McCall's patterns...this paper is so thin and works wonderfully for string paper piecing.

Smaller stitches?

Thanks for all the great ideas!

I read somewhere either on QB or in a quilt book the idea that you can use a Q-tip dipped in water to slightly dampen the foundation paper and it will come off much more easily. I don't remember what kind of paper, but probably phone book paper or sandwich wraps from the big box store would be the easiest.