Tip of the day

Each week on a Wednesday I'm going to post a little tip from that week's sewing.  If you have any tips you'd like to share with me, please get in touch and we can have a little guest post action going on here on a Wednesday.  It's always a nice chance to share you knowledge and link a few more people back to your blog.  Email me on lilysquilts@gmail.com if you're interested!


So this week I've been paper piecing and I know many people find the whole process of removing the paper a fussy and fiddly experience so here are my tips:

1.    Ordinary printer paper works fine, you do not need expensive dedicated FPP paper.

2.    Avoid crossing sewing lines where possible - take each line right up to the next one without them crossing - this avoids those tiny little pieces of paper caught in a junction.

3.     Keep your stitches short - around 1.5 - this makes tearing the paper away at the end much easier.


4.   Sew in the day and remove the paper in the evening in front of the tv - even if you have a huge pile of papers to remove, you will be too busy concentrating on the tv to find the job a chore.

5.   And finally, my toppest tip of all in this regard - remove the papers in reverse order i.e. go from the highest number down to 1.  That way, you're never removing papers with funny L shaped corners, every piece will be just a straight fold and tear.


If you have any foundation paper piecing tips, I'd love to hear from you!

Comments

  1. I just dove into paper piecing so these are really good sets of tips! Thank you for this!

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  2. Oh great tips--especially number 5--I always get those tiny pieces--thanks hugs,
    Julierose

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  3. I think you got the most important ones. The smaller stitches solved a lot of other problems too.

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  4. 'Last on, first off' is a great rule for removing papers, I just need to remember to apply it!

    P.S. If possible, remove the paper when it's someone else's turn to hoover. Or outside...

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  5. Using a moist q-tip along the stitch line is also a big help.

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  6. I use a larger sewing machine needle than usual--size 90. This perforates the paper more efficiently. That plus using a shorter stitch make removing the paper a cinch.

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    1. Good idea, Susan. I'll be doing that too in future.

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  7. I fold the paper back along the stitching to weaken it before I pull it off. I like Susan's tip of using a larger needle; I shall be doing that in future.

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  8. Press the paperfold with your nails to get a sharp edge. That helps me a lot when ripping. And have your tweezers by hand so you can get the tiniest pieces easy peasy :) Your geese look gorgeous

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  9. Love these tips! I like to use 20 lb. paper because its thinner and easier to remove. I'm using wash away stabilizer on a Skill Builder project right now. I haven't a clue if it really washes away...that remains to be seen!

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  10. "Remove pieces in reverse order,"...mind blown! Thank you!

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  11. Use tweezers, especially for removing tiny pieces stuck in the seam allowances. I was sceptical about this at first, but after a session removing lots of small pieces my fingers and thumb really hurt. I switched to tweezers (blunt ended sort) and they were fantastic: no more sore fingers!

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  12. My tip is to use wonderclips to make sure the stitching lines are aligned on both sides when you are joining pieces together. So much easier than pinning and better results than just hoping for the best which was my previous technique. My other tip is to stick pins through the end of the lines you are stitching along and mark with an erasable pen so it it easier to line up the fabric - I don't have a light box and I see in the garage so this makes it much easier, especially when you have lots of pieces it are using dark fabric

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  13. I use a tiny bit of 505 spray to put my no. 1 piece on the reverse of the paper as sometimes you have odd shapes or tiny pieces that are first up and pins can get in the way :) Loving the reverse order tip!

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