English Paper Piecing Construction

Here is my method for constructing your units.

I used to tack the seam allowances over through the card. 

But now I have found the Sewline Glue stick and I love it. It sticks your seam 
allowance down onto the card so effectively, quickly and temporarily.

          


Tip:
Once your have your seams stuck or tacked down you need to whip stitch them together.
Tips:
I always use Polyester thread as it is stronger. I have found that silk and cotton tend to fray quite quickly as every time you take a stitch the thread runs across the edge of the card and this wears out the thread. 
There is no logical way to get all around a set of hexagons logically so I run back where I want to be within the seam allowance rather than cutting off and starting again all the time.
I add a knot at each intersection to give more strength to the stitching.
Back soon.

Just use a light swipe of your glue stick as it sticks well and it makes it easier to lift your card templates out later if you haven;'t overdone the glue.

Put right sides together and using tiny stitches catch a small part of each fabric
and pull your stitch tight.

Pulling your stitches really tight seems to make them disappear better. 
I use a neutral thread colour - grey, medium to dark taupe depending on your fabrics.

If you are making diamonds or other shapes with points  fold the tips of your points 

over first and then mitre your sides as they fold over. You can catch the two 

sides of the mitre on the back  together with a little stitch if needed as your whip 

stitch them together.

Once each piece of card is surrounded by other pieces your can remove and reuse 

the card. For example the white hexagon in the photo at the top of this post can come

out as it is surrounded.

Please ask questions about technique if any of this is not clear and I will answer with a comment too. You need to sign up to the Blog on the right hand side section if you want to comment.

Send your photos in and I will add them to the post with just your first name attached
unless you say otherwise.