Tiny english paper piecing issue
 

Hi there :-)

I've just finished a miniature quilt top that I'm planning to enter into a competition (it's my first try at entering!). The pieces were so tiny that I decided to English paper piece it, and had to glue baste because some pieces were so small that I would have been completely unable to thread baste!

I've just spent a good few hours with my steam iron and a pair of tweezers picking out the papers and have managed most of it apart from the tiniest pieces, because the papers are sort of trapped (I think I must have caught the seam allowances on the opposite side) so I think the only way in would be to snip the fabric, which I don't really want to do because then there would be barely any seam allowance left and I would hate for it to all fall apart now!

I know that sometimes papers used to be left in for extra warmth, so I'm hoping I can get away with leaving them, but is it going to look really silly as it's only certain ones that have been left? Would I get marked down in the competition for this? (this doesn't worry me too much as it's my first time, so not even expecting it to get into the show!) Is there anything I can do to soften the papers up? I've currently got it soaking to try and remove the gluey residue, but any tips at all would be most appreciated!

I don't know about working with the glue baste method yet, so I will be watching this thread for thoughts from the experts. I've always thread basted mine. But if you have it soaking, it seems to me that the last little bits of papers will just pull right out (even if you have to use tweasers on it). I also don't think judges will even know since they would be inside the seam allowances, unless they create lumps for some reason. Let us know how it works out for you ok?

When i have a stubborn piece of paper that won't remove I use my laundry spritzer (water bottle with mist sprayer). I spritz the location with water - the paper gets soggy and comes away from the stitching with tweezers. Then i put a press cloth on top and a dry iron to dry the piece. If you are using liquid white wash out school glue, the spritzing will get rid of that as well.

i just ran into the same problem with paper not coming off the back. Some of it in the seams just wont come off. I am hoping over time it is not noticeable.

this was my thought, as well. good luck in your show

I have never made a miniature but I have tried this before and it works. You just have to be real patient.

A) I don't think it will be noticeable once completed and quilted. B) How would judges possibly know. Do the best your possibly can with all the suggestions you've been given. After working at for as long as you can stand to look at, take the attitude 'it is what it is' and just finish it up. I'm sure it will be stunning.

Thanks guys :-) the problem isn't so much that the glue is stuck down too well, its more that I can't access the papers at all!
Anyhow, I'm not nearly as concerned as I was before I washed it! Now that it's dried out, it feels a lot less crispy than before it was washed, and I think that most of the glue is gone now! Its definitely less obvious that the paper is still in there, so I think you're right, the judges will have no way to know!