Welcome to the first installment of Quilting Adventures with Kate and Tammy! We are SO excited you are here! Kate is the fabulous Kate Colleran of Seams Like a Dream (so super talented), and I'm Tammy Silvers of Tamarinis. We would love to have you come along with us as we explore the great big quilting world. Our first stop - paper piecing. No groaning - it's all good - really!
As part of an ongoing series of tips, tricks, thoughts and even some fun projects, my good friend Kate Colleran of Seams Like a Dream wants to share some paper piecing love with you too (more on that in just a bit).
With that, I'd like to call this meeting of Paper Piecers Anonymous to order. What? This isn't the meeting? Well......that's ok. I'm still confessing to being a paper piecing fanatic.
I LOVE paper piecing. I do! Ok, and I also kinda HATE paper piecing. What's the story behind this love/hate affair? So glad you asked.
I LOVE that paper piecing enables me to get awesomely sharp points (but wait - so does my guided improv technique). But seriously- sharp sharp points. Perfect points. Every.single.time.
I LOVE that paper piecing lets me piece intricate, complex shapes. Not quickly - and not always easily. But possible - yes, yes it is. No templates. No specialty rulers. Just a paper piecing pattern (ok, maybe multiple patterns if the block is repeated), my thread, my fabric, my sewing machine - and go.
I LOVE that paper piecing makes tiny shapes and blocks less of a headache. Kinda like a Tylenol for miniatures. Again - no templates. And the opportunities are almost endless.
But......I really HATE the tiny, tiny, tiny, exquisitely minuscule pieces of paper that have to be removed from every.single.block...ugggh! Seriously - who doesn't??
However - it is totally worth it. In the long run. As long as you're not in a hurry (ok, you can't be if you're paper piecing - really). So long story short - the romance is real. And the struggle is real. But like any really great, epic, classic love story - there has to be a struggle for the romance to live on. And so, dear quilting friends, I continue on (in fact, as you are reading this, I am slaving away over the hot iron with a brand new, epic paper piecing project....stay tuned!).
What's your secret, you may ask, to keeping the romance alive and the fire in the relationship? Ah...a few tips and tricks.
Some basic pointers:
- Shorten your stitch length - every time. Not so small that you can't remove the stitches if you make a mistake, but shorter than your usual 10 stitches per inch. This secures the stitches so they don't pull out when you remove the paper AND perforates the paper so it tears off easier.
- Remove the paper from the seams when stitching blocks together.
- Did you know that you can spray the back of your paper pieced block or quilt with water? Yep, it will weaken the paper. Promise! Just lightly mist the back side of your paper pieced block (or quilt - I like to wait until my entire quilt is pieced before removing the paper), and once it dries, the paper will peel off super quickly and easily!
- You can also lightly score the seam lines with a pin to further weaken the paper along the stitching lines to make sure the paper releases easily.
- Use a pressing cloth on your ironing board to prevent the ink from transferring from the pattern to your ironing board.
- And don't forget about the postcard trick when paper piecing your blocks!
What's the card trick? Ah - I covered that in a post a few years back, but I don't want you to have to go looking for it - so here's the repeat of how it works:
Stitch along a seam line in the paper piecing pattern.
Lay a postcard along the seam line just stitched.
Using the postcard as a guide, fold along the stitched line.
Trim 1/4" away from the folded edge.
Turn over and match your next piece along the trimmed edge.
And that's the post card trick. No more guessing where the seam line is. No more missing the line, or going over too much. This will make your next paper piecing project a breeze - an Autumn Breeze. Oh, c'mon - you know I had to go there!
And be sure to check out what my friend Kate Colleran of Seams Like a Dream has to share with you as well. Yup - another paper piecing fanatic! And her stuff is so stinkin' cute too! Click here to go to her blog. FYI - Kate and I will be teaming up to each month to explore quilting with you. We'd love to hear what you'd be interested in seeing in our blogs.
Thanks for sharing the quilting passion with me. Happy stitching!
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