Quilters, have you tried your hand at paper piecing?
 
‘Tulips’ pattern from MH Designs.
Paper piecing, or foundation piecing, is another tool to consider adding to your quilter’s toolbox. Paper piecing offers accuracy and seemingly intricate piecing without any fuss. And, large or small, your blocks turn out perfect every time.
The paper piecing method of quilting is ideal for creating intricate or small designs such as the ‘Tulips’ shown here by MH Designs. Elements of the overall design are stitched, piece by piece, to a foundation such as paper. Then the elements are sewn together for the final design.
Paper piecing also offers ease of mind. Due to the method of building a design based upon the foundation, you don’t have to worry about your fabric being on the straight of grain or working with complicated templates. It’s also a great way to give new life to small left overs that otherwise might be wasted.
There are plenty of designs available to get you started. I do recommend patterns from MH Designs due to their strong reputation for accuracy and wide range of designs.
Take a look at the Ornaments and consider getting a jump on your holiday quilting.
I found a tutorial to get you started at About.com: foundation piecing tutorial here.
[tags]paper piecing, foundation piecing, ornaments[/tags]
