English paper piecing ( EPP) by hand

 Hello everyone, 

I shared photos of our family room in our Facebook group last week, all decked out for Fall. It looks pretty good, but I felt like I needed a new little project to add some more coziness to the room, so started some English Paper Piecing. And then I thought, why not write a blog post about it ( along with some videos) and here we are ;).  

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So what is English Paper Piecing ( or EPP for short)?

 It is the process of sewing fabric around a paper shape, then sewing those shapes together, and, finally, removing the papers from the shapes. Yes, it is a HAND project, but it is totally fun and very relaxing. I love to work on EPP while watching TV in the evenings!

You don't need many supplies for EPP at all. Some fabric, some scrap paper, a glue stick, and a needle and thread. You can cut your own paper shapes or buy ready made ones, but I like to use my hexagon die to cut my fabric and paper at the same time. ( Accuquilt sells the actual EPP dies ( find those here ( click), but I don't like the seam widths. I need something a little bigger to comfortably sew. If you can handle the narrower seams, by all means use those dedicated EPP dies). 

This is my favorite die to use: 

Click here to shop this for this die: ( click)

I  cut my paper and fabric at the same time, using two of the adjoining hexagon sizes. The smaller one is for the paper, the larger one for the fabric. You still need to make sure to lay your fabric on your die correctly, with your tightly woven edge next to your stickered side, but then cut away to your heart's content. And YES, you can cut paper with your dies, that is not a problem at all. 

Once you have cut all your paper and fabric shapes ( or at least enough to get you started), you are ready to start sewing your hexies.

Grab your gluestick, and place a little dab of glue right in the center of a paper shape. Now place this right in the center of THE WRONG SIDE of your fabric shape. Try to center it, but it is not that crucial that it is perfect. You can repeat this for a whole bunch of your hexies.

Now you are ready to start sewing.

Use any thread and needle to sew down your fabric over the edge of you paper WITHOUT sewing through your paper ( this will all be very clear in my video, don't panic).

Once you have sewn a whole bunch of hexies, you are ready to sew them to each other. 

This time you want to use a fine needle and fine thread. Silk is nice because it is thin and your stitches will disappear, but it also likes to slip out of your needle a lot. Experiment!

I use a whipstitch to sew my hexies together, but here are some other options, according to Google:

The most common stitches for English Paper Piecing (EPP) are the whipstitch and the flat-back stitch. The whipstitch is a visible stitch that is easy to sew, while the flat-back stitch is more invisible from the front and ideal for curves. Some EPP quilters also use the ladder stitch for a very nearly invisible seam on straight edges. 

Whipstitch

What it is: A basic, visible stitch often used in EPP. 

How it's used: You sew across the folded edges of two pieces, catching a few threads from each fold to hold them together. 

Best for: Beginners because it's simple and easy to hold the pieces for. 

Consideration: The stitches will be visible on the "right" side of the work. 

Flat-back stitch

What it is: An invisible stitch that is sewn on the back side of the fabric. 

How it's used: The two pieces are laid flat and you stitch from the back, catching only the fabric folds. 

Best for: When you want a completely invisible seam, especially when sewing around curves. 

Consideration: Can be used with any thread color since it won't be seen from the front. 

Ladder stitch

What it is: A nearly invisible stitch that is an option when the whipstitch is too visible.

How it's used: The needle goes back and forth between the two folded edges of the fabric.

Best for: Straight seams where you want no stitches to show at all. 

Here is one of my hexie flowers in progress. I start by picking out a center hexie and then sew one "petal" to that center one.

I use a fine needle and thin thread and catch just a little bit of fabric on both hexies and AVOID SEWING THROUGH THE PAPER. I sew all the "petals" to the center hexie first, and then finish sewing the "petals" to each other using exactly the same method. 

For the entire process that I use, please watch my video which will explain everything in way more detail than I could explain in words:  https://youtu.be/PmMudrXaVTo

When you have sewn all the hexie flowers you need for your project, you can decide how you want to sew them together. You can add extra background hexies to set the flowers apart, or you can sew them together with just a few background hexies to connect them. Once you know the process you can make this decision. For mine, I'm planning on making a copy of my red and white hexie flower quilt and I will make some additional background hexies to connect my flowers:

To finish off my project I simply trimmed my hexies to give me a straight edge that I could attach a binding to. I can give you more detail on that if you need it ;).

Now what to do if you can't or don't want to hand sew? You CAN sew your hexies together by machine, but that requires using that dreaded Y-seam that so many of us like to avoid using....

So I came up with a method that allows you to use your machine for EVERYTHING, NO Y-SEAMS needed. Interested in seeing that method? Check out my next blog post where I explain with photos and videos ;)  

Until next time~happy creating!

Monique