Once you have you have gathered your tools and supplies, you can begin cutting and then basting your shapes.
There are several cutting methods for EPP. A good point is you do not need an exact 1/4” seam allowance as with regular patchwork, however it does need to be a minimum of this size.
Place the paper shape onto the wrong side of your fabric and pin in place.
Use scissors to cut out a minimum of 1/4" seam allowance. 3/8" seam allowance is best for most shapes.
Acrylic templates are sized to include the fabric cutting seam allowance for you so you can get accurate results every time. Draw around the template and cut out, either with scissors or a rotary cutter.
Acrylic templates work best for any fussy-cutting elements you may wish to include as it allows you to see through to the design of the fabric.
Using a rotary cutter is the speediest method if you are using multiples of the same shape and fabric.
Place the paper template on the fabric and cut the fabrics into strips, ensure you cut wide enough to allow for seam allowance.
Stack the strips and sub-cut into smaller squares or rectangles.
Further trimming can be done with acrylic templates for exacting shape results.
For our Sew & Quilt EPP patterns and kits, we provide sub-cutting instructions that follow this method. This is to ensure you have enough material to work with when calculating yardage requirements. However the downside is it can be wasteful for some shapes that don't lend themselves well to it (e.g. an equilateral triangle paper piece shape, sub-cut into a square), so feel free to change up the methods to your preference.
Basting is the process of securing the fabrics to the paper template. There are two main methods basting methods; thread basting and glue basting.
Please note the photos below are completed by left-hander so all the basting is done in a clock-wise fashion, if you are right-handed it is assumed you will find it more comfortable to work anti-clockwise.
Is the traditional method for paper piecing. There are two slightly different techniques which we will demonstrate.
Traditional Method: Using a needle and thread folding fabric around the sides of the shape, taking large basting stitches through the fabric and paper template as you work around the shape in the same direction. You will need a strong Piecing needle (or similar) and thread as you will be piercing through paper continually. This method creates a nice neat shape, which is securely attached to the paper template. The basting stitches with this technique will need to be removed after the quilt top is complete, as the stitches are sewn through to the front. You can use any colour thread for this purpose as the stitches will be removed.
Corner-Catch Method: In the same manner as the traditional method, you will fold the fabric around the paper template and secure with a stitch. However instead of piercing through the paper you will take two stitches through the corners of the shape, catching only the fabric – not the paper. This method allows all basting stitches to be sewn on the backside only, which won’t create holes in the front of your work unnecessarily and allows you to leave the basting stitches in place, saving another job of removal. As the stitches stay in, you will want a similar thread colour choice, i.e. avoid using a black thread on white fabric pieces, on the off-chance basting stitches would be visible from the front.
It makes lighter work of basting and you can easily remove the paper templates for re-using after completion by simply popping them out. For very small shapes this can be tricky however, when the space taken up by tacking almost covers the shape, there is not much space for popping out the template. Conversely, for shapes that have sides larger than 2” you will want to use the traditional method to keep the fabric securely in place.
Is a new technique, brought about by popular quilter Sue Daley, who introduced us all to the Sewline Glue Pen.
Instead of securing the fabric and paper template with a needle and thread you will use the glue pen instead. Fold the fabric around the paper template as you would normally and swipe a line of glue to the paper template. Care must be taken not to use too much, as this will make it harder to remove the papers and unnecessary waste glue. Equally you will need enough to keep the two layers secure. Through practise, you will find a happy medium. I have been a happy convert to glue-basting for many years now. It’s a huge time-saver and I’ve had good experience with it. One issue that has arisen, when using a fine cotton (such as Liberty Tana Lawn) and basting the shape too tightly around the paper template, leaving no give – when whipstitching the shapes together, you unavoidably catch the paper template with every stitch, which makes the sewing more difficult and removing the papers can be tricky – which can even loosen your stitches when pulling the paper pieces out. Please note; it is essentially a glue-stick so it’s not advised to use outside in hot weather conditions – as it will melt and become soft.
