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foundation paper piecing tutorial

By Hatun Comak → Monday, June 25, 2018

 If you have been hearing about foundation paper piecing and wondering what it is, how it is made, you are at the right place. When I have seen those perfect shapes on fabric with no mistake, especially shapes of animals, trees, flowers and the complicated geometric shapes, I gave a wow to those who made them. I thought they were the masters of quilting until I learned about foundation paper piecing.

Foundation paper piercing is so rewarding when you see what patterns you can make. It takes a little practice the first time you try it but when you learn the basics, you can achieve any shapes that looks complicated.

Foundation paper piercing designs are the combinations of several smaller pieces which are sewn one on top of the next while gradually building a design. Each piece of the designs  is labelled with a number that you sew in numerical order.
Here is my step by step tutorial for you. I must say that I am not a professional but I'd like to show in my way how I make this. Hope it will be useful.


When you sew, you will need a template . You will use the template while you are sewing. You sew along the printed lines by numerical order. The finished sewn block will be a reverse image of the template because the fabric is sewn to the back of the template.
In this tutorial I will use this simple economy block. Once you learn the basic technique of FPP, the steps are all the same for foundation paper piecing patterns.
                   

1- Before beginning, decide which fabrics to use for each section. Cut the fabric pieces for each section of the fpp template, pieces should be 1/2 inches larger than the section they will cover. The excess fabric will be trimmed later or you can cut the Fabrics as you go along, it's up to you. Here I preferred to precut.


2-  Find number 1 and 2 in the template and take to the fabric pieces for these sections.

3- Hold up your template against light source - windows will do great job. The right side of paper faces you .Take the fabric for number 1 and hold it to the wrong side of the paper template, wrong side of the fabric touches the paper, the right side of the fabric touching the light. Make sure that the fabric for number 1 covers all of this area with 1/2 inch seam allowance. Pin in place, the right side of the fabric faces you, wrong side facing the template.



4- Place number 2 triangle fabric right sides together with number 1 fabric. You need to align raw edges on the side where the number 1 and 2 meet . Pin in place along the line between the two sections. Don't forget that number 2 fabric should cover number 2 section completely with seam allowance so after pinning, you can fold the number 2 fabric and check it.


5- Sew along the line on the template between number 1 and 2. You need to shorten your stitch length about 1.5 so it'll be easier to remove the paper. You can extend your sewing line a few stitches beyond the line.


6- Fold the template along the seam line and trim the seam allowance on the fabric piece to 0.25 inch. Remember that the seam allowance is trimmed after sewing. For the rest of the block you will trim the seam allowances before sewing. Fold the triangle number 2 over and press it. Number 1 and 2 are pieced. (Don't forget to press after sewing each piece.)


  7- For number 3, fold the template over at the seam line between number 1 and 3.Trim excess fabric 0.25 inch beyond the fold line. You will trim the seam allowance for the seam before sewing. Sew through the line between 1 and tree, open the number 3 piece and press it.

    Repeat steps 4-6 to piece the remaining sections on the template in numerical order.


8-When you've finished sewing all pieces, trim the pieced block  along the dashed outer edge of paper template. The photo below shows the sewn lines.


9- Press the whole block and remove the template. You've done it! I like this technique quite a lot. It is a great technique to achieve perfect shapes from fabric. Enjoy it! There are some free patterns of fpp available in my block. Have a look at Rose Pattern here and Foundation Paper Pieced Butterfly Blocks. Free patterns are available in the link. Follow my blog because more free fpp patterns will be released here soon.

quilted zipper pouch tutorial

By Hatun Comak → Friday, June 22, 2018

I am one of those that work on more than one project at a time. When I do not want to do anything but just relax, I make hexagons with nothing on mind. Then the time comes to use these hexies. Today I've wanted to make something simple and quick. Day by day I like making zipper pouches. This zipper pouch with hexie flowers came out nice. I hope you like it , too. I want to show you how I made it in case you want to make your own.
Now let's start!
Here I used 2 inch hexies for the front piece- 7 for the flower and 4 for the corners.



When you sew hexies together, open the hexie seams that are on the outside of the piece and press it all flat.




Then trim the panel into a rectangular. I added a 2 inch frame to the patchwork panel as I wanted it not to be too small. You can either add a frame or make it without a frame.



Now you are ready to quilt it. To make your quilted pouch, cut batting a bit larger than the front piece and baste it.  Quilt the piece the way you like it. I did some hand quilting as in the photo.



Repeat these steps for the backing of the pouch also. I made the same as the front piece. You can also make it different. Creativity time!

Cut out two lining pieces the same size as your front and back pieces and get a zipper the same size.

There are different methods of sewing zipper pouches. I have another tutorial HERE that is a little bit different. You can use either this or that previous one.

Lay out the front piece -face up-  and place the zipper face down with right edge lining up with the top of the front piece.
Then lay your lining on top of that -right side down.


Pin and sew them together. When you finish sewing, flip your fabric pieces so they face the right direction and press the seams.
Repeat the same process for the other side of the pouch.


When you sew both sides to the zipper, open your zipper a little bit so that you can have an opening to turn the right side on.
Open your fabric pieces to match the front and back pieces right sides together and the two lining pieces, right sides together.
Stitch around the outer edge of your whole wallet. Do not forget to leave an opening on the lining edge.
Clip your corners, press seams and flip it inside out. Stitch up the hole in the lining and your zipper pouch is ready. You are all done.

This project is so simple and a great way of using hexies to show your skills. I want to make many of these to be given as presents.


mini cactus quilt

By Hatun Comak → Sunday, June 17, 2018

Nowadays I am a big fan of cacti. Actually I am a big fan of everything related to quilting lately. I want to make all of those wonderful quilts I come across on the net. I make foundation paper piecing, english paper piecing and hand applique. Cactus patterns are especially take my attention those with hand applique and also fpp patterns. This cactus mini quilt includes different types of cacti. They are hand appliqued and hand stitched around the patterns to make them look more beautiful.
I have enjoyed making these cacti  and they look so cute to me. What do you think?

Normally I applique the patterns and then quilt it but here I tried something different. Firstly I prepared the base; made the quilt sandwich and machine sewed by making straight lines on the fabric and then added the binding.  Finally I appliqued the cacti on the base.


While I was planning the layout of the cacti, my 4 year old son was playing with them. It was such an enjoyable game for him. We tried different variations together and decided on this one. Now let's have a close look at the each individual cactus. Hope you like it. If you want to make one for yourself you can find the applique patterns of cacti below.



After I appliqued the cactus, I did some embroidery work which made them look more like cactus.





I made this cactus mini quilt which can be turned to a wall hanging or a placemat. I hope you enjoy my mini cactus quilt.


foundation paper pieced butterfly blocks

By Hatun Comak → Sunday, June 10, 2018

I continue playing with fpp blocks, which is great fun to me. The moment I came across these Butterfly Charm Blocks by Lillyella, I thought I must make one. She presents the pattern free. You can download it by clicking on. There are three different butterfly blocks, here you see two of them.
The blocks measure 5 inches when they are finished. So be ready to deal with small pieces. Colour choices are also important to make a lovely butterfly. It all depends on your tastes. For the first one I chose plain purple and lilac and for second one I preferred yellow, orange and fabric with flowers. I am pretty happy with the result. 


One of the best part of quilting for me is to decide the choice of colors and fabric because right color and fabric choices make your work better.


I plan to use these lovely butterfly blocks for a zipper pouch that will be given as a gift. I couldn't wait to finish the zipper pouch before sharing it here. When I finish it, this post will be updated. Till then enjoy your sewing!

Update: I finished making my zipper pouch. As soon as I finished it, it was gifted and pretty loved. Here it is. More details about the quilted zipper pouch is HERE




paper pieced rose pattern

By Hatun Comak → Wednesday, June 6, 2018

I've recently been busy with foundation paper piecing trying new patterns each day. Epp has always been my favourite but foundation paper piecing is something else. It is like solving a puzzle. Seeing the images coming to life step by step at the back of the paper is great fun and excitement to me.

Lately I was attracted by this lovely paper pieced rose pattern by Jitka designs and I could not resist to make one for myself. So I would like to share my version of paper pieced rose pattern.


The rose pattern by Jitka Designs is free to download. If you are a beginner it may look complicated but once you get familiar with the principles of foundation paper piecing, it is quite easy to sew. You download the pattern, print it out and start working on it. Before making this rose pattern you may like to have a look at foundation paper piecing tutorial

The rose pattern includes four sections. When you finish piecing the sections seperately, piece A-B sections together first, then add C and finally D.
I love the result. I haven't decided what to do with this beautiful pink rose. It may turn into a mini quilt for rug mug. Using it on a zipper pouch or a bag would be great also.

Happy quilting to all. Have fun.


UPDATE: It seems that the pattern is not available free anymore. So below is the link for some other free paper piecing rose patterns which are all free to download. So, have a look at them and find your favourite one.




hexagon pincushion tutorial

By Hatun Comak → Saturday, June 2, 2018

Making hexagons is addictive. Once you start making, you want to make more and more. I made a pincushion with little hexagon flower. It is such a relaxing and satisfying little project of english paper piecing to work on. This is a quick little project and it is enjoyable to make.

I prepared a tutorial for this little project which is quick and easy to make. It would also be a nice gift.



Instructions

  • First start with preparing your hexagon flower. I used 1 inch hexagons for the hexagon flower. If you are new to english paper piecing, check out this How to make hexagon flower tutorial. This will guide you through the process of making hexagon flower. After making hexagon flower, press with iron and remove the papers.
  • Cut out two pieces of fabric measuring 5 inch.
  • Pin your hexagon flower in place to the right side of the front fabric.
  • Hand stitch the hexagon flower to the center of the pincushion front. You stitch in a way that your stitches cannot be seen.



  • Putting the second square on the front one, right sides looking at each other, machine sew the four sides of the squares together. Do not forget to leave 1 inch unsewn. You will turn the right side from here.


  • Turn the pincushion to the right side and push the points out.
  • Stuff firmly with the stuffing of your choice. I used fibre here. Then hand stitch the gap closed.

Your pincushion is ready to use. The hexagon pincushion is fun and super easy to make. Enjoy it.