Foundation Piecing Session 1: When to Use Foundation Paper Piecing

Foundation paper piecing is one of my very favorite techniques because it lets me do things I can't do otherwise. It gives me really wonderful accuracy, lets me do tiny little miniature blocks, and I love having my points match, but I can't always do that without a foundation. So I'm going to show you some of the ways that foundation paper piecing works in quilts, and why you might want to learn how. So this one here, this quilt is a New York Beauty block, one kind, and these are the little pieces that I made. They're made on foundation, and they work right into a block like that. So that's one place where you might use foundation paper piecing is as part of a bigger block. And then, here's a quilt I made, and these tiny little nine-patches, well I don't think I would attempt them without paper piecing because I couldn't begin to get them even, and get them the way I wanted them to be. And so with foundation paper piecing I was able to do that, and I was really happy with the way that turned out. And then this quilt. Now you might wonder why would you want to use a foundation paper piecing method with something like this? Well, here's why. Can you imagine trying to cut these shapes? How would you cut these shapes. You would have to have a template, and you would have to have a template here, one, two, three, you'd have to have all these different templates, and when you came to that little point, can you imagine trying to get that point just right? Its so narrow. So when you're trying to do that without a foundation, that point is wiggling every which way and it makes it almost impossible. But with paper piecing, its perfect and all your points are right where you want them. So, another thing I like, I love miniature quilts, and these are my little miniature houses, and on the back you can see the foundations, how tiny they are? Well, see the D1, D2, D3? Each one of those is a different piece, a different patch. If I had to cut them that small and somehow piece them and have them actually lay flat without a foundation, without paper piecing, I don't think I could. So that's one thing, those little miniatures. And here are just some of the things that are out there that you can make with paper piecing. This is a pattern from the Quiltmaker people, and every part of this is paper-pieced. So you have these wonderful details with ferns and leaves that are incised and cut, and that snake, well how could you ever do that without foundation paper piecing? You know, and just for us, I'm just going to refer to it as paper piecing now, even though there are two kinds of paper piecing. There's English paper piecing and foundation paper piecing. But I'm just going to start referring to this as paper piecing alone, okay? All right, here's another reason. This is a Feathered Star block, and if you've ever tried to make one by doing the little half-square triangles, well if you're like me, it didn't turn out very well. My seams weren't parallel, my points were every which way and cut off, and I finally made a perfect Feathered Star because I paper pieced it. This is a Mariner's Compass, and I'm going to show you later how that is numbered and segmented so you can make it. I couldn't do this without paper piecing, not in a million years. And look at that. That's a really fabulous New York Beauty. Do you see how tiny these points are? How narrow? Well, how would you even cut them out? I mean, what kind of template would that be? So this is what makes these things possible. And just so you know, you have, there's so many places to get patterns. Like for instance, this is one of the Quiltmaker's 100 blocks magazines. And just look, I'm in the foundation pieced section. I mean, you've got that, and that, and these, and doesn't it look hard? I look at a block like that and yeah, no way am I going to be able to make that block, and if I did, my points wouldn't be anywhere near where they should be. Well, I'm going to show you how, its really easy. Your points will show up right where you want them to. And just to show you a couple of the little things out there. Here's some minis, and these bright, bold beautiful blocks. One of the people who really brought paper piecing into the place where it is today is Carol Doak. This is one of her books and of course she's also got a website www.caroldoak.com if you wanted to check out other patterns of hers. She's one of the ones you're going to be interacting with left right and center as you paper piece because so many of her patterns are the best there are. And then you can do things that are really pictorial. For instance, you've got teapots and pitchers and fruit and bowls and you don't have to applique them. Yay! I mean I like applique sometimes, but not always. And look at this, see this branch? Look how intricate that is, and yet you can do this. And its not hard, it might take some time, its not the fastest technique there is, but your points will be perfect, absolutely perfect, and people who don't know how you did it are going to go whoa look at that shape you cut. Yes, aren't I spiffy. Here's another one, Margaret Rolfe. You'll see her name a lot. Look at that tiger, isn't that the coolest thing? And then there are puppy dogs, and everything you can think of. Holidays, animals, Christmas. So, I think your going to love paper piecing. And I think your going to find all kinds of uses for it once you give it a shot. So I'll be back in a second, I'm going to show you what materials your going to need.