Experience Magic of Paper Piecing
Paper piecing is a specialized quilting design created by making accurate seams. It begins by drawing a design on a blank piece of paper and then the first piece of fabric is rightly placed at the upper right side, on the back of the paper. Next, it is time for placing the second fabric with the first one. Then a seam is stitched according to the line drawn on the paper.
Further, paper piecing design is done by sewing the seams and placing fabrics one after another. The design has to be created in such a way so that the seams are all arranged in a straight line and the pieces are placed in a specific order. In case the design is complex, you have to gather several parts first and then sew the pieces systematically.
The snowman, bird, pumpkin and butterfly are popular paper piecing designs, which were first created following the above mentioned procedure and then they were formed into a pattern of half square triangles. The cows in "Noontime" is also done following similar patterns – "Ballet", "Winter Sunshine", "Magic Show" and "Good Heavens" are some more popular designs, which are formed by a piecing method.
There are particular design formations known by other names like "Foundation Piecing" or "Foundation Paper Piecing". This is a bit different from the English technique.
This particular pattern needs a strong foundation and there were days when even muslins were used as foundations for the designs. Such patterns can be made by putting together a paper and muslin. After the work is completed, the paper is slowly removed from the back of the fabric. Since the paper needs to be removed at the end, using a thin variety is sure to do better. Keeping this in mind, the quilters make use of a wide variety of papers, which includes freezer paper or newsprint along with printer paper. However, this entirely depends on your personal choice.
Paper piecing is a complex design and therefore not suitable for beginner quilters because they are always in need of something simple and less complicated to start with.
Advantages of the design
This design or pattern is undoubtedly the most convenient one. If you have this design, you are no longer in need of measuring fabrics or creating templates.
The design provides you with stabilized blocks and while working on this pattern. You can easily make use of stretchy, slippery or delicate fabrics. Paper piecing pattern provides strength to the fabric and makes it look all the more neat and beautiful.
