These English Paper Piecing Lessons show how Inklingo has significant advantages for quilters who sew with stitches over templates.
English Paper Piecing has seen a resurgence in recent years, especially when quilters discovered Lucy Boston Patchwork of the Crosses (2009) (above).
In the 1950s and 1960s, the legendary Lucy Boston created her artistic, fussy cut masterpieces with this old method of sewing over paper templates.
I included instructions for EPP in the POTC book because that is the only method Lucy Boston knew but I recommend sewing this intriguing design with a combination of hand and machine piecing—a hybrid, as demonstrated in this short video.
The more you know about English Paper Piecing and Inklingo, the easier it is to choose the best technique to learn and the best technique to teach.
List of English Paper Piecing Tutorials
You might be wondering if this method is the right one for you and what the alternatives are, so I prepared a series of EPP Tutorials (tutes), listed below.
Inklingo simplifies this age-old method for the best results.
Tutorial # 1 All About Templates
Lucy Boston made her own templates with sturdy writing paper but we have many more choices today.
Why I don’t sell acrylic templates
Tutorial # 2 Cutting the Fabric
Cut with scissors or a rotary cutter.
Thread? Glue? You have choices.
Tutorial # 4 Managing the Seam Allowances
Tutorial # 5 Sewing Sequence and Inset Seams
Tutorial # 6 Needles, Thread, Threading the Needle
This English Paper Piecing Lesson includes a short video showing how to make a finger pincushion too!
Tutorial # 7 Fabric Requirements and “No Waste” Fussy Cutting
BONUS 8 Good Ways to use Inklingo for English Paper Piecing on Quilting Hub. Summary:
1. To make paper templates (shapes without seam allowances)
2. To cut the fabric shapes (shapes with seam allowances)
3. To fussy cut the fabric
4. To preview fabric with window templates
5. To decide how much fabric to buy
6. To rescue an English Paper Piecing UFO
7. To create original designs
8. To learn from Inklingo support and tutorials
I hope these English Paper Piecing Lessons help you decide whether to sew over templates or to sew with a running stitch.
I would love to know what you think. Thank you for visiting!
Linda & Monkey
PS One of Lucy Boston’s books, The Chimneys of Green Knowe, has been made into a movie!
I love Inklingo and have used it for both hand piecing and for making papers for EPP. Inklingo makes it easy both ways, although hand piecing is so much easier on your hands, and easier to sew. There are fewer stitches with handpiecing, and you don’t have to manipulate fabric with papers inside. I have run tests to see the time differences, and regular hand sewing always wins over EPP. Still, there are times when EPP is more convenient for a specific project, and Inklingo gives us a choice for doing either way. Thank you for Inklingo!