thank you so much.FayZ

thanks for your tutorial

welcome

Just make another box to roll the finished piece into! you probably still have a bit of the knitting needled left, eh?

great idea

I just found a bag of narrower than usual adding machine tape at the thrift store. it will be great for smaller pieces

Is there a reason for using paper behind the fabric? Couldn;t you just sew the fabric together without the paper?

You can but I find yoiu need the paper to stabilize it.

Oh, and then you just rip the paper off after. I get it now. Thanks

Brilliant, thanks for sharing! And to think I gave an entire box of these rolls to Goodwill just a few months ago.

The paper is a Great way to use as a guide to cut the fabric into a strip. Just face the paper up, line up your longest ruler along the edge and cut away. It's a great tip!

if you just sew small strips of fabric together in a long strip, you more than likely won't be able to keep them straight and you will end up with a very wonky strip. The paper is a stailizer for small pieces but also keeps you straight. Use smaller than normal stitches when sewing and then if need be you can run a seam ripper along the seams to make it easier to tear the paper off. I have also found rolls of fax paper that you can find in second hand stores, as most fax machines no longer use it, a great thing to use in designing borders. Just cut to the length of your border and fold in half, quarters, etc to design your borders in equal sections

Paper from an old telephone book is much easier to tear off and the lines of writing help to keep the strips straight. I use pieces cut lenthwise on the page to the width I want the border to be and sew the paper strips together when I run out of the last strip. It's also lighter weight than the adding machine tape and rolls neater as you work.

You need a foundation when sewing like this and it keeps them flat

You could but remember these are scraps so many of them will be off grain or outright biases. If you don't stabilize them they are likely to go wonky on you and the blocks will not be square and the sides will not measure the same. It really saves time and temper to take the time to stabilize them.

thanks for sharing that great idea! I used to recycle my adding machine tape but I just rerolled it and sent it though my adding machine on the other side!

Thrifty idea..I love to re use

Couldn't you sew two rolls together side by side if you wanted wider? Maybe with a long zig zag and old needle? For a wider strip of paper I mean.

I don't know if that would work, give it a try and let us know. I have kept the strip of paper that EQS puts in their bolt of wadding, it's about 4" wide. If stitching them together is a pain why not cut up something like old Yellow pages, they are thin, and free :thumbup:

the other day at work we ran out of paper for our credit card machine - found all kinds of rolls but none would fit it! now i know what to do with all those rolls!!! gonna go in today and tell them Do Not throw any rolls away! i wonder if thermal paper makes a difference????

Not really, it's just when you press it the paper turns black, but only the paper.

What a neat idea! Thanks for sharing....

:thumbup: :thumbup:

When you first start what size do you cut your strips to?
Then do you get to a desired length before you use a ruler to trim the edges?
At what length do you normally stop to trim the edges?
Thanks, Pat

My till rolls are a fraction over 3" so I cut my strips to about 3.25 - 3.5 and anything from an inch to 2/5" in depth. I normally take about a couple of feet x 2 so I can chain piece, any longer I get in a tangle :roll:

Has anyone tried that cheap paper towel stuff on this? You know, the stuff in public restrooms where it feels like tree bark? <snicker>

Second question, is the paper hard to rip off? Does paper stay under the stitched areas when you tear it off?

Im new to quilting and I have never paper pieced before.

Thanks ladies and Sue for this wonderful ideal!

I have only used the adding machine paper..i use a tight stitch and steam press it when done and the paper comes off easily

Thanks - great directions and a wonderful use of scraps.

This is way too cool. :)

I found some very inexpensive paper on a roll in the paint department. See this link for a picture:

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-156525-1.htm#4322777

Well Ms. Sue Fish...you lady are one smart cookie...that is just the coolest idea EVER! :):):)

My husband often sits in my studio and "paper pieces" on adding machine rolls. He sews them together based on color.

Gee thanks so much! Hey how far are u from Raleigh? We just bought a house in raleigh

So glad I refound this tute!! I was telling my friend about it and was having a hard time explaining it. Love this...

Thank you Sue Fish for the reference back to your string quilts. I never knew they could be so beautiful. You have truly inspired me to make one.

I sometimes call my leftover pieces 'craps' too - especially when they are pieces that I cut wrong!

This is a brillant idea! And to think I've been bagging and giving my scraps to thrift shop. No more :)

This is a wonderful idea, thank you ladies.

Ok I have a question.. Why do people sew on paper?

A foundation helps keep all those tiny pieces flat and often scraps are bias and that helps with that also