A Girl Sewing, A Paper Pieced Pattern

18 responses to “A Girl Sewing, A Paper Pieced Pattern”

1. We have a quilt exhibition in October for which the Challenge is ” seven shades” -after all, 50 shades of grey would be unrealistic in more ways than one! I think this will be my attempt, as she’s demure and the sewing can suggest all her dreams! Thank you, very inspired today!

2. This looks like a wonderful challenging project. Would love to try this. Thanks so much for this.
   Bunny

3. I am inspired. I might finally try paper piecing. Any good places to learn this technique that you can suggest?

   1. Heather, It will be September before I can do a photo tutorial for freezer paper piecing (which avoids sewing through any paper). Until then, look at the photo sequence here: http://www.twiddletails.com/store/index.php?main_page=page&id=21
      Or let’s see how good I am at giving you a detailed Word Picture.

      You can practice with a piece of freezer paper and some scraps by doing this: Think of a Christmas tree and
      1. Draw a straight-line triangle about 4″ to 6″ tall on the paper side of a piece of freezer paper. Cut it out leaving 1/4″ all around.
      2. Draw a straight line splitting the tree roughly into a top and a bottom.
      3. Take a bread knife or the back of a dull seam ripper and score the freezer paper along that line and fold the paper and open it again.
      4. Iron the freezer paper to the wrong side of a chunk of fabric that will be enough to cover the bottom area of the tree plus seam allowances.
      5. Peel the paper for top-of-the-tree back to the crease. The freezer paper will now be folded back upon itself and fabric will be sticking to the lower-part-of-the-tree.
      6. Take another chunk of fabric and place it right sides together with the fabric that’s sticking to the freezer paper.
      7. With the freezer paper still folded back one itself, sew along the crease, seaming the fabric. Do not pierce the paper but be so close that you nearly nick the crease.
      8. Fold open both the paper and the seamed fabric, always leaving the bottom of the tree section sticking to its fabric.
      9. Iron.
      10. Trim around the original tree outline leaving your 1/4″ seam allowance around your original drawing. Your seam will fall exactly on the line/crease that you made on the freezer paper.
      11. This freezer paper pattern can be reused about 5 times before its stickiness wears out.

      Many paper piecing patterns will have more pieces than just two, of course. But this is the basic technique. Key to the process is scoring along the lines that will become your seam lines. Scoring, on more complex patterns, is done from one edge of the paper to the other continuing the crease all the way across the paper even if the actual seam will be only a short part of that line.

      Give it a try. Let us know how this practice piece goes.

      —- Peggy

      1. Thank you so much for the detailed response, Peggy. I look forward to following your wonderful directions 🙂

4. Love this! On one of the sites I frequent there is a participant that uses this painting as her avatar. I PM’d this link to her, pretty sure she is going to love this one. Thank you so much for all the hard work and great things you share.

   1. Thanks for sharing the link!

5. Lori, you and Peggy continually amaze me with your PP fine art interpretations! They are always spot on and stunning and really allow us to look at PP in a new way.

6. I am having trouble downloading the pattern and instructions. It is a wonderful design that I am really looking forward to making. I plan to make it in brighter colors. Thanks so much for your great website.

   1. Juanita, you may email me directly at paperpiecingheartland–at– gmail.com and I’ll email them back to you. If you piece the way I do, you’ll only need the color chart and the Reversed Sections.

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8. Wow – that is so incredible. Thank you

9. Hi Lori, I love the idea of paper piecing this block. However, I don’t do freezer paper style, rather the style that Carol Doak teaches; I’ve also recently been taking classes from her…(I used to think this was the only way, haha)…anyway, the thought of tracing the pattern and adding the proper seam allowances myself is more work than I want to do. Looking forward to seeing finished projects!

   1. The file above, the Reversed Block Sections are to be printed right onto the freezer paper. They have the 1/4″ seam allowance ringing each block. It’s pretty easy to print on freezer paper as long as you tape a plain paper to the top edge to carry it through without slipping. Give it a try once and I think you’ll see the possibilities. I just printed some text using a fancy wordprocessing font and cut it out as a Free Motion template. Worked fine.—Peggy

10. THANK YOU I JUST LOVE THE IDEA OF THIS CHALLANGE , MY MIND IS REACING ALREADY..WILL DEND YOU A PICTURE THANK YOU AGAIN

11. I cannot wait to make this block! Thank you so much!

12. Thank you so much for this amazing pattern! I wanted to share the mini quilt I made using it:
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/lqsvs_group_admin/19374475786/in/pool-sew_vote_swap/

13. this is such a lovely pattern, thank you for the share…I will most certainly do it in gingham….very appreciated