Never paper piece again!
 

Here is a quilt top that I have paper pieced, and I will never ever do it again! I feel that it is wastes to much fabric. The colors are not quite what they actually are, the yellow looking color is actually a green and the blue is a blueish green .

It is a very pretty quilt but I hope you give PP a try again. Some patterns I would never attempt without PP like Mariner's compass and NYB. Try browsing Judy Neimeyer's patterns at quiltworx. She lays out and gives you precutting templates so the waste is absolutely minimal. I do agree that a simpler pattern made up of rectangles and squares or strip pieced like yours appears to be would be more frugal doing traditional rather than PP

Don't give up! I watched a video the other day that said most quilters waste a lot of fabric at first but then learn how to decrease waste as they go along. Your quilt is very nice.

I agree with the others when it comes to pp'ing. Once you get the hang of it - or the pattern/instructions are well done, the waste is relatively minimal. There are just some patterns, like feline fanatic mentions, that pp'ing is the only way to go.

For future, perhaps make a second set of pattern pieces, cut them apart and use as a rough template for cutting your fabric - like an inch or so larger all the way around. Unless your fabric is very directional, you could lay out a bunch of those templates and have considerably less waste.

It's so soft and pretty! I really dislike the fussiness of paper piecing, so kudos to you for doing such a large quilt.

It's a beautiful quilt. I am trying to learn paper piecing, but I can't imagine doing something that big. You did an amazing job.

I agree with FF. Looking at that quilt, even upside-down, I can't see why it needed to be Paper-pieced.

I felt the same way as you did when I first paper pieced, but I tried it again several years later with a Judy Niemeyer pattern and liked her method.

I have done some paper piecing and I just take the "waste' and save for something else. I watched a Judy Niemeyer video and did one NYB block. It's on my bucket list. With JN's method, very little waste. Same effect with Bonnie Hunter. She uses scraps where as Judy doesn't.

The first time I tried PP I hated it and I only did two blocks at that time!! Fast forward a few years later and I LOVE paper piecing!! Some designs are so worth the effort because they turn out so well.

Oh PP is awesome, please try again, it make everything look so perfect. I taught myself and just love it and still from time to time I make a mistake, but when complete so worth it. Your quilt is very pretty.

I love paper piecing just hate removing the papers after it is done.

Your quilt is beautiful.

Very pretty quilt. I love paper piecing but I think that it's a technique that we either love it or hate it.

very pretty!!!

Very beautiful quilt!

I agree, after you have made a couple of projects you learn how to precut pieces that are pretty close to what you need. It took a couple of projects before I fell in love with the accuracy!!

This is a beautiful quilt - great job! I wonder if you might like a die cutter instead of paper piecing for large blocks? I ADORE paper piecing (though I know it's not for everyone) - but I generally reserve it for small blocks with precision piecing. I bet you could get great accuracy and waste less fabric with something like a Go from Accuquilt. :)

That's sad to think you don't want to PP. Judy Niemeyer patterns are mostly PP and she definitely does not waste fabric with her methods!

I absolutely love paper piecing. Don't give it up, but try something smaller. Paper piecing allows for some very intricate blocks. I learned in a way that just doesn't waste fabric, so it can be done.

Pping is like all things new ..sometimes..after we have done them..it is best to give it a little space..then go back..learn new tricks as u go..I agree that.. that pattern..could have been done without pp very easy..the suggestion to give each piece a little extra material is the way to go..when u pp u know some material will be wasted..so it is best to stick with patterns with points and etc..so u don't mind the little waste when u see the perfect points..nice quilt..just think of it as the perfect quilt..all straight lines..all seams meet perfect..that is worth a little extra material..

I don't really love pp, but it has its place. I would not have pp the quilt in picture ...that pattern is simple enough to rotary cut and piece, and I could see how you feel you wasted a lot of fabric........can't beat its precision for, small, intricate, pointy piecing though....which I think it was originally intended for. I am now working on a project that I am pp, and since I haven't done in over a year, had to go slow and rethink piecing and placing, but this is the only this can be done...try again.....do one block of say, mariners compass...then you will appreciate it...

I frequently hear "you either love it or hate it" about paper piecing and IMHO it is how you learn to paper piece and just how much you want to challenge yourself to make your first results even better...but who can negatively argue that even your first paper pieced results are not usually spectacular? The biggest stumbling block is the fact that you are working on the reverse of the pattern... so you practically have to work looking into a mirror to see what you are making is correct? The next is how you approach sewing the project and that is why many patterns are now being printed in a variety of ways... on newspaper, sometimes freezer paper or both and some are even inverted. Then there is the initial and more than likely fabric waste issue...it is money, but once you get into making a quilt, unless it is off the charts illogical, there are parts that repeat over and over. So once you get the process... trying to math out a template to cut future parts rather than endlessly "reinventing the wheel" seems necessary? I also get that you are likely still trying to wrap you head around this concept and that is just one more thing that can add an additional complication...but saving fabric, improving speed and results...to me seems almost imperative. That is why people love Judy Niemeyer patterns ...she give you cutting templates and unless you like scrappy quilts ( no offense...I like them too) or making pet bed filling...this must be an eventual consideration. The biggest issue is approach...sew through the paper and all that horrid tearing or use freezer paper ( that you may be forced to trace/print your pattern upon) and sew along the lines,flip, iron, peal back, tim and sew again ( see Utube for a tutorial) and then just peal off the reusable pattern. Let's face it you try paper piecing, it is because we like what it produces and like anything new there is a learning curve, but once you pick the technique you will use to complete the project...then we need to challenge ourselves to make our lives easier. Then the 2nd one is vastly easier, you are less a slave to directions and you can better "think outside the box,” the quilts look even more stunningly professional, the scraps become smaller and so do the headaches.


Look, I am I guy here and we all know the jokes about how we dislike asking for directions and that likely includes reading them, but paper piecing can be SO GREAT but it is a bit complicated at first... even those who write these patterns frequently have corrections they print somewhere. All it takes is the right technique for your brain to understand, doing it more than once, making a few templates, understanding that in using the more common cottons over batiks often requires the fabrics to be stacked differently for cutting, loving something new...and who can argue with the final product?

That's what I was thinking. But all your work paid off because you ended up with a beautiful quilt.

I just finished my first paper pieced quilt top. I used the Marjorie Rhine's Painless Paper-Piecing technique. Once I got the hang of it I loved it. With this method you draw and cut out paper templates, and by cutting the fabric to these templates, you waste very little fabric and the pieces are never too small. Also, sewing alongside the paper instead of thru it means you don't have to tear paper off and clean out little pieces or take the chance of loosening your stitches.

I purchased her book for a $1 at the guild book sale and realize I got a great bargain.

nicely done

Looked like a big amount of work went into that quilt. Perhaps you should have started smaller and worked your way up to such a big one. It is still very beautiful.

looks very nice great job

The first time I paper pieced I said the same thing, about 12 years ago. I hated it! Wasted a lot of fabric, swore, never again.... Now, it is one of my favorite techniques and I do a lot of it! I learned to not waste so much fabric and also learned I can print ( copy) designs onto lightweight muslin or interfacing ( foundation piecing then I don't have to remove papers. It did take me two or three years after that first time before I tried it again, I saw a fabulous ( celebration star) by Carol Doak and wanted to make it, I visited her site, found lots of beginner help, how to cut fabrics to avoid waste...before long I was hooked! Your quilt turned out lovely. Never say never, you never know what may change in the future :)