So far I avoided each pattern calling for pp and now I wanted to make a mini and I had to go with pp and boah.......its fun.
Sadly my blocks ended up 1 3/8" instead of 1 1/2" so I will have to add a border to get to the finished 6".

So for all making minis: where do you get the patterns? How do you get the paper off and do you go with 1/4" seam allowance?
I had the problem that my work tended to slip to the left under the presserfoot going over bulks of seams. How do you avoid that?

And most important: do you do patterns with more than two colors? With this tiny pieces I was afraid that one cant see the piecing unless one goes with two contrasting colors. Would be a shame for all of the work

Would love to hear from experienced mini makers.
Granny

very cute, thanks for sharing!

WOW!! :thumbup: Your mini is gorgeous!! I jut love it & you have done such a wonderful job making it, too!! :D I haven't attempted a mini yet, so I can't help you with a pattern. I just wanted to tell you how pretty it is!!
:D :D :D :D

I love PP but really have to shorten the stitch makes getting the paper off easier.

I did read about the short stitchlength and went for it - lot of fun when I had to undue a seam!? So I attached the blocks with a very big stitch first and when everything looked ok I went for the tiny stitches.

i am working on a mini storm at sea... some of the pieces are 1/4" x 1/2"...i am using a little bit larger than 1/4" seam for basting (it is just easier for me) but i am hand stitching these. i can not even imagine doing such tiny piecing by machine, my machine would eat them for a snack.
i am working on mine the english paper piecing technique, where you hand stitch the fabrics around the templates then piece them together. not far enough on this one to show a pic though...maybe tomorrow.

Been there! I like to pp, but get soooo aggravated when I have to rip the tinies. Oh well. :)

You did a great job on your first PP mini
I love mini's & pp! A shorter seam really works best.

With the paper it is no problem and nothing gets eaten up. I cant imagine to this by hand..........

Do you have any idea what I should put into the search function to find pics from other minis. Didnt find much yet.

To tiny for me to even try. But I love what you did.

I love your mini. the colors are so great.

amazing. I don't care what you think is wrong with it ;-)

Here's a couple links for you to try
http://quilting.about.com/od/quiltpa...Mini-Quilt.htm
and
http://www.allcrafts.net/quilting.htm

It is recommended to decrease your stitch length because it makes tearing out the fabric easier. Before tearing out the fabric, I have spritzed the paper with a little water for the stubborn bits. I like to press a ruler along the longer perforations and pull against the ruler so as not to stretch the seam.

When I pp, I do not align the pieces with a perfect 1/4" - instead, I visually verify that the piece will fit, sew it down, and trim the edge. If the next seam will be close to the first, I trim to less than 1/4"

There is also a method by which you fold the paper back on the perforated line and sew the fabric along the folded edge. Adjustable zipper foot gives the best results. The benefit is that there is no paper to rip. Downside is you have to be careful that the piece doesn't shift.

Nice mini, btw!

thank you so much. Going to the first link my eyes almost popped out.................a long way to go!?
Its getting late over here but I will check it out tomorrow

i can't wait to do something like that, that is beautifull

Rhonda I think is the resident mini expert. You should ask her. She's got all kinds of tutorials, examples and helpful hints on making minis. good luck. looks pretty good so far to me.

WOW! Great job. I can't believe you made them so tiny.

That is just amazing!

Hugs

Amazing

I baste my intersections before stitching the blocks together. It seems to help with getting a good 1/4" seam too.

There are a lot of mini quilts/doll quilt patterns on the net... If you want really tiny? Try googling doll house quilts :wink:

You should see all of them in the virtual section

This is the mini section
http://www.quiltingboard.com/virtual...jsp?vsnum=1008

This is the Paper piecing section
http://www.quiltingboard.com/virtual...jsp?vsnum=1005

Fantastic!

All I can say is - WOW Your mini is very nice.

Wow...that looks great! :D :thumbup:

Very pretty mini! I use all kinds of colors on my PPing mini's and have great results! Are you stitching a scant 1/4" seam allowance? If I'm using regular type paper patterns, I use a 1.0 stitch length which allows for very easy tear off...if I'm using paper piecing paper, it's a 1.5 as any smaller will make your pattern come off before you want it to. Good luck and thanks for showing your top! Looks like Rhonda's sites are great!

Boy, that is tiny. Great job tho. Nice color choices.

What great contrast in your mini! I'm not a big PP, but do like to make mini's. As to color selection, I have found you need to have a contrast between fabrics next to each other if you are going to see the patchwork design. Also when using fabric pieces that small the smaller the design in the fabric the more attractive the block. You can use larger designs, but the overall look changes. Often times mini work is a lesson in value (light and dark) placement.
On a another note--when quilting I think less is better as the star of the quilt is the minute piecing, not the quilting motifs. Looking forward to seeing more of your work.

Great job! I did the same pattern a few weeks ago...
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-57034-1.htm

I just resize patterns I already have. I try to stick with patterns that don't require sew two or more entire sections together....otherwise I just reduce the size of any pattern that appeals to me.

Yes getting the paper off is tricky. Sometimes I back stitch over the line where their are small sections and find that it is much easier to get the paper off. Otherwise use tweesers and be very careful. I also found it helpful to wait until the entire piece is finished....border and all before removing the paper.

Yes always 1/4" seam allowance for me.

Hummmm, I'm not sure how I handle seams, it might be that I use an older all metal machine and it is a workhorse and somehow it just goes through.

I use fabrics that I would use on large pieces. I go with whatever excites me. But yes I do think contrasting colors definitely show off the tiny work more clearly! I love pping! Glad you decided to try it and like it!!!!!

Great job! I did the same pattern a few weeks ago...
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-57034-1.htm

I just resize patterns I already have. I try to stick with patterns that don't require sew two or more entire sections together....otherwise I just reduce the size of any pattern that appeals to me.

Yes getting the paper off is tricky. Sometimes I back stitch over the line where their are small sections and find that it is much easier to get the paper off. Otherwise use tweesers and be very careful. I also found it helpful to wait until the entire piece is finished....border and all before removing the paper.

Yes always 1/4" seam allowance for me.

Hummmm, I'm not sure how I handle seams, it might be that I use an older all metal machine and it is a workhorse and somehow it just goes through.

I use fabrics that I would use on large pieces. I go with whatever excites me. But yes I do think contrasting colors definitely show off the tiny work more clearly! I love pping! Glad you decided to try it and like it!!!!!

The best tip I've ever read is in "The Art of Machine Piecing" by Sally Collins. She always sews with a stilleto (I use wood skewers) to quide the fabric at intersections, and especially at the end of seams.
Carol Doak advises basting intersection and then you never have to rip out. I

Check with Rhonda on this board, she does a lot of minis. She can probably tell you anything that you need to know about them.

Very pretty

Love your mini (and the colours). Can't help with the PP as I haven't tried it out yet....just wanted to chime in and admire your work.

I love your mini!! It's just so cute!! You did great for your first! I make lots of minis, make my own patterns and most of the time I stay away from PPing and piece instead on foundation pieces like muslin. This way I don't have to tear any paper out and secondly, it gives much needed stability to the little minis. With an ink pen or felt tip pen, I draw my patterns on muslin. Sometimes I use clothes dryer sheets to foundation piece on. This way I can leave them in and it's a time saver!!! Once in a while, I will use pages out of the phone book and draw my patterns on. The paper is very thin and works great for PPing! I noticed other countries use thin paper for their phone books too! You can try that as the paper is easier to remove than other types. Most quilters use tweezers to remove the papers so as to not weaken the threads. In the signature area of my avatar, there is a link for you to see all my minis and patterns I've done. Feel free to use them! Hope I've been of some help to you with PP! :D :thumbup:

Nice work!

Thank you all so much for your tips and links! What a great way to start my day.
I do have to work for money today :lol: for a change and will check out later. Just had a quick look at Rondas work and boahhh..............similar pattern to mine with sashing!? How is that supposed to work??
And I think I will have to get myself new glasses.

I got this crazzy idea to make one more "bears in bed" quilts with 24 miniquilts in it. Will keep me bussy for a while!

Sallie Collins does mini quilts and has a book called Precision Machine quilting. She may have a blog. But I do not know of her doing paper piecing. When you photocopy your pattern, make sure it measures up before doing many copies. Some copiers do not print out exactly as the original.
I have to hand it to you that you are really challenging yourself. And it turned out beautiful.
marla

Beautiful, oh my, another thing to try.

Great job! Love paperpiecing. lots of scraps get used and still you have scraps! Check out lots of pics of minis on Flickr.com, check under groups put in quilting and there are thousands of groups . I see tons I would love to make. I like designing on graph paper. Good luck and just have fun, don't sweat the little things.!