EPP

English paper piecing (or EPP for short) is a hand sewing method that is used in patchwork and quilting.

Simply put English Paper Piecing is folding pieces of fabric around a template shape made from paper or card.

Once the patches are assembled, these are sewn together by hand into larger patterns and quilt blocks, most often using a whip stitch to sew them together. The paper/card pieces are then removed once the shapes are sewn and these can be reused for another project.

EPP projects are great for something to sew on the go. Hand sewing is very therapeutic and has a definite positive benefit to someone's wellbeing. It's easy to do and achieves great results.

What is the difference between paper piecing and EPP?

Paper piecing is often confused with EPP. Paper piecing is in fact a different technique - Foundation piecing. Foundation paper piecing can be challenging particularly for a beginner to sewing. Please click here for my tutorial on Foundation paper piecing.

Tools needed for EPP

You don't need many tools to get started with EPP.

• Fabric - good quality cotton works well
• Paper pieces
• Needle and thread - fine needles are easier to sew with e.g needle size between a no8 and a no10. It's good to use a 100% cotton thread which is medium to fine weight ( 50-80 weight)
• Scissors
• Optional - acrylic templates to use when cutting fabric pieces 

Tip : It's advisable to match the thread colour to the colour of your fabric.

Paper pieces

You can draw out and cut your own paper pieces ( from paper / cards etc.) Freezer paper can also be used  - it has a shiny side that will stick to the fabric when ironed and will peel away when you're ready to remove it. You can reuse freezer paper templates a few times.

You can also get pre cut paper pieces from many online sources - these are great for accuracy and they save time trying to make your own.

Great examples are hexagons, triangles, squares and diamonds but there are many more shapes that you can use.

Three different EPP Basting Techniques

1. Traditional thread basting - sewing large stitches through the paper and fabric     to secure.

2. Corner catching - thread baste but do not stitch through the paper.

3. Glue basting - use glue instead of thread to secure the fabric and the paper       shape.

Acrylic templates

These are used to cut the fabric patches for your paper pieces. They will have the shape of the paper piece marked on them and have an added seam allowance included so they are actually larger then the coordinated paper shape.

Also a great advantage of using acrylic templates is that you can fussy cut your fabric (pick out a particular pattern in the piece of fabric) 

Learn to English paper piece in 3 easy steps

1. Select your paper templates and cut out your fabric shapes - they should be at least 1/4 of an inch larger than the paper templates.

2. Fold your fabric over the paper templates and baste together using one of the three basting techniques (as mentioned above)and sew 2 of your shapes together with right sides facing, using a whip stitch to sew the edges together.

3. Remove your papers and press with an iron. Note : if glue was used to baste your fabric and paper templates together, use an  iron on a medium heat to warm the glue - this will allow you to remove the papers more easily.