English Paper Piecing

English paper piecing is a very old construction technique used because of its accuracy and ease of sewing. It consisted of basting over a paper foundation to hold and support the fabric pieces while sewing them together. Quilters today still enjoy this method because of its portability, and continue to use if in sewing hexagon, diamond, baby block, and star patterns. There are many different precut papers and templates on the market today for those interested in this method.

I prefer using freezer paper because by pressing it on the fabric it eliminates the need for pins. This tutorial will teach you how to use freezer paper and the English Paper Piecing technique to join hexagons quickly and accurately.

1. Cut out your freezer paper templates and press onto the back side of your fabric. Cut the fabric with a 1/4" seam all around.

2. Fold over the edges, mitering the corners. Tack the corners together through all fabric folds. Make sure you avoid catching the paper, however. Tack each corner a couple of times, and then simply move your needle and thread along the whole edge without stitching, to the next corner. Tack the next corner, and move on. Do not worry about that loose thread - it will be hidden anyway when you join your pieces and then sandwich for quilting.

3. To join pieces: right sides together, line up the edges of the two pieces you are joining. Whip-stitch the edges together. It's as simple as that!

4. Keep the paper on until you finish joining all the pieces in the design of your choice. It helps stabilize the piece and keep your edges nice and crisp while you sew! Once you are finished, simply pop the papers out. Remember: another of the advantages of freezer paper is that you can use the templates again!

For your convenience, a pdf file is provided by clicking on the link below , with sheets of different sized hexagon templates. Just cut your freezer paper letter size, and you’re ready to print off all the templates you need.