ShellyQ

Completed Rosette

I will appliqué this rosette to a background square, I haven’t done this yet so am leaving the basting stitches and papers in until this is done (Pic 14)

This will keep the seam allowances tidy and in good shape until the edge of the rosette is stabilized in some way, either by appliquéing as I plan or by being whipped stitched to another rosette to make an allover pattern.

kinkajou

Wow, Shelly - this is a great tutorial! I definitely want to try this.
I'd love to see another paper piecing tutorial for machine pieced blocks.

THANKS!!!

ShellyQ

Layouts

The hexagon has been used in many designs and layouts, it is a very versatile shape and you can discover your own designs by colouring in graph sheets . Here is a great site for downloading free graph paper in PDF format to colour in, it was listed in Links and Resources on here I while back. I’m sorry I forget who by, but thank you to that thoughtful person
http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/

Below are just a few examples of possible uses

ShellyQ

Now that we've covered the basics of English Paper Piecing (EPP) I’d like to show you how to use this method to make more complicated blocks. I am going to make a Carpenters Star using EPP. This block is not a beginners block, but using this method, makes these type of block less tricky. I for one, wouldn’t dream of making this block by machine. I just know what would happen lol, another addition to the scrap bin. I know there are people out there who are able to make these type of blocks by machine, but I'm not one of them :?

Actually I’m not too sure of the name for this traditional block, it probably has several, so if someone could help me out there, it would be much appreciated :thumbup:

Below I have included a down load of the templates for Carpenter’s Star, please check the accuracy of your printout. Here is a measurement guide for your templates, there are no seam allowances included in the templates.

Pieces B & C are the same square, so I only included one of these. EQ does some funny things sometimes. Also below is a download of four pages with all the shapes you need for this star, again please check measurements

If you make templates for drawing around to make your paper shapes, please remember to cut your paper shapes just inside the drawn line. That width of a pencil line can add quite a bit to the finished size of your block. I forgot to do this and my block measures 12 1/8” (finished size) :lol: , It’s not a big deal I can easily ease that amount in, but it’s not a very good example, is it :?: Ok it’s a good example of how not to do things :lol:

ShellyQ

Anyway you should have three different shapes, a square, diamond and a trapezoid, choice word aye, I had to look it up on Wikipedia to find out what to call that shape :lol: (Pic 1a) you will need to cut 8 of each shape out of your chosen paper

Because I am going to be using this block with other blocks that I want to machine piece together, I don’t want to be basting the outside edge of the block so I make a mark on this edge of the papers just to remind myself not to baste this edge (Pic 1b)

ShellyQ

Glue stick or iron your paper to your fabric (depending on your paper choice) leaving at least a half inch gap between your paper shapes as previously described for hexagon piecing. Allow for a larger seam allowance around the outside edge of your block. Ie. The marked edge of your trapezoid.

You will need to cut 4 each of two different colours for your diamond shape (Pic 2) Cut out your fabric shapes, eyeballing a 1/4” seam. Leave a little bigger seam allowance for trimming on the pieces that go around the outside edge of your block

ShellyQ

Basting: The Trapezoid

Baste the fabric over the paper as we did for the hexagon, remembering not to baste the marked edge (Pic 3a - f)

The Diamond

You will get dog ears on the sharp points of these, don’t worry about them and don’t trim them yet, the dog ears need to be folded out of the way while piecing and are easier to handle if not trimmed. These can be trimmed after you’ve finished piecing your block. Anchor the folds firmly at the points with a basting stitch so fabric doesn’t shift (Pic 4a - f)

The Square

When basting the folds at the corners on this piece ensure you do not place your basing stitch too close to the edge of the piece as this fold may need to be tucked out of the way during piecing (Pic 5a - e)

ShellyQ

As before I select some threads that I think will blend well with the fabric being used

ShellyQ

Piecing the Block

Start a thread in the oblique angle of a diamond, match this diamond with one in the alternate colour, right sides together (Pic 6a)

Whip stitch this seam folding the dog ear out of the way as you get towards the end (Pic 6b) Fasten off thread into seam allowance, being careful to catch neither dog ears nor basting stitches

You should have a pair of diamonds sewn together like this (Pic 6c,d) Make four of these pairs

ShellyQ

Adding the Square

Start a thread in the corner of one of your squares, line this up against your diamond unit, right sides together as shown (Pic 7a) Start whip stitching at the ceter of the diamond and work towards the outside edge, fasten off thread

Restart thread at center of unit. Open out work (Pic 7b) and fold diamond over sguare, linning up the next seam to be sewn (Pic 7c) Whip stitch this seam, folding dog ears out of the way as needed.

Add a square in the same manner to the rest of the paired diamonds. You should now have four quarter star units that look like this (Pic 7d,e)