The Quilter's Bible. Linda
sewing patches together a simple running stitch will suffice or use a backstitch. The smaller and closer the stitches the firmer and more secure the seam will be. For extra security, start and finish with a knot and also a backstitch. If sewing pieces together that have been placed over card or paper templates, as in English paper piecing, a whip stitch is easier to use.
For many people, Grandmother’s Flower Garden is their first experience of patchwork. It looks very pretty worked in bright, contemporary fabrics.
Hand Piecing Techniques
Related Topics
Hand Sewing Patches
1 Cut your fabric pieces to the size required, ensuring they are square. Place two patches right sides together, aligning edges and corners. Use a pencil to mark the seam line, usually 1⁄4in (6mm) and pin the patches together.
2 Start with a knot and sew along the seam line using short running stitches and the occasional backstitch for stability. Finish with a backstitch or two.
Hand Sewing Rows
1 Place the pieced patches right sides together, aligning edges and corners. Use a pencil to mark the 1⁄4in (6mm) seam line (or use pins). Pin the sections together.
2 Start with a knot 1⁄4in (6mm) from the edge and sew along the seam line using short running stitches. When you reach a seam, make a backstitch or knot and then put the needle through the seam to the other side and continue sewing – this leaves the seam free to be pressed. Finish with a knot or backstitch 1⁄4in (6mm) from the edge.
Hand Sewing Multiple Seams
When sewing multiple seams or set-in seams, sew two patches together, as before and then pin the third in place as shown. Take the needle through from the edge of one seam across the corner into the third patch, and then continue on to sew that final seam.
English Paper Piecing
This type of patchwork, also called English patchwork, is often one of the first techniques that beginners learn. The patchwork uses templates, usually made of thick paper, thin card or freezer paper, which fabric pieces are wrapped around and tacked (basted) to (or pressed in the case of freezer paper). The fabric patches are then hand sewn together, usually with whip stitch and the papers removed.
These master templates are used for cutting papers for English patchwork. These are also useful for ‘fussy cutting’, where you want to feature a specific motif.
This technique may be slow but one of its big advantages is that it is portable. It also allows complex designs to be built up and some lovely effects achieved. You can buy templates for English paper piecing or make your own (see Making a Simple Template). Templates are available in various shapes and sizes and in different materials. ‘Master’ shapes made from acrylic or metal are very durable. Accurate shapes can also be created using isometric paper, which is composed of 60 degree triangles (see Using Isometric Paper).
Designs created with English paper piecing can be used as appliqué attached to a plain or pieced background. This wall hanging was created this way, using elongated octagons. The shapes were edged with narrow ricrac braid but a machine satin stitch or hand blanket stitch could be used instead. The octagon shape was used again for the hand quilting.
Creating Patterns
The most common and useful shapes are triangles, diamonds and hexagons, which allow you to create many patterns. These shapes can be combined with squares and rectangles to produce many innovative patchwork designs.
(left to right) Grandmother’s Flower Garden; Field of Diamonds; Six-point Star; Brick Pile; Ocean Wave; Inner City
English Paper Piecing Techniques
Related Topics
Paper Piecing Cutting and Assembly
If you are new to English paper piecing it is best to use 100 per cent cotton fabrics as they crease well. Sew using a thread that matches the main fabric colour or use beige or mid-grey as these blend with most shades.
1 Calculate how many paper templates you will need for the design and create them from your master template. Pin a template on the wrong side of the fabric and by eye cut 1⁄4in (6mm) further out all round for the seam allowance. Freezer paper could also be used as a template, ironed in place. Repeat the process as often as necessary.
Bright Idea
For a quick result use a strip of fabric and a rotary cutter to cut fabric pieces, cutting strips 1⁄2in (1.3cm) wider than the template shape to allow for seams.
2 Pin a template to the wrong side of a fabric piece and fold the seam allowance over the template edges, tacking (basting) in place through all layers. Repeat with all pieces.
3 Assemble the design. Place two pieces right sides together, aligning edges. Using small whip stitches sew together along one edge through the folded fabric, but not