Paper piecing, or foundation paper piecing (FPP) is one of my favorite sewing techniques. I'll admit, when you first start doing paper piecing, it feels like you are sewing everything backwards, but once you get the hang of it, it's super fun. And once you learn the basics, you can create beautiful and complex designs with that technique.
We sell nearly 20 different paper piecing block patterns here on our website and in our Etsy shop. They range from beginning designs to advanced designs with up to 48 pieces per 6 inch block. Once you purchase our printable PDF patterns, you can print the pattern pages as many times as you like, so you can make a single block for a pillow or 100 of them for a big quilt. And, at $7 or less per pattern, that's a great deal!
While our patterns include directions for assembling the quilt blocks, we assume you know the basics of paper piecing. If you don't, we recommend checking out this beginner's tutorial from Craftsy.
About 5 years ago, I started creating paper piecing patterns in an effort to expand our product offerings, and they have turned out to be really popular. In fact, we've sold over 1100 of them. I'm excited to share our top 5 paper piecing patterns with you today:
#5 - Girasol (Sunflower) Paper Piecing Pattern
This one is probably our most complex paper piecing pattern. The finished block has 48 pieces total, and the pattern includes directions for making a 6 inch block, as well as an 8 inch block. This pattern became really popular in our shop earlier this year when we began to sell it as a charity pattern to raise money for Ukrainian Jersey City, a nonprofit organization based in downtown Jersey City. So far, we've been able to raise over $600 for UJC from our sunflower pattern sales.
#4 - Burst Paper Piecing Pattern
This pattern is, by far, the easiest paper piecing pattern in our shop. It's a great pattern for beginners and it's stunning in a group of 4 - it makes a pinwheel! I like making this block with batiks especially.
#3 - Scrappy Splits Paper Piecing Pattern
This paper piecing pattern has been especially popular with my Instagram followers. It's a great scrap-busting pattern and I love to make the block with different fabrics from the same collection or designer -- the one in the photo is made with all fabrics from Carolyn Friedlander, my favorite fabric designer.
#2 - Ziggy Paper Piecing Pattern
This one was the second paper piecing pattern I ever created and it's, for sure, our second best-selling pattern! This is a fun one, and also a great use of scraps. I made this block with a bunch of bright batiks, but you could certainly use prints for this.
#1 - Wonky Star Paper Piecing Pattern
This was the first paper piecing pattern I ever created, and it's our #1 best-selling pattern. This one is a great quick pattern for making a pillow or a crib quilt that comes together quickly. But, can you spot the mistake in my listing photo? When I trimmed the block for the photo, I trimmed the seam allowance right off - doh! In any case, the finished block DOES have a 1/4 seam allowance, like all of our patterns.
Have you make anything with our patterns? I'd love to see it! You can email photos to kat@onestitchback or send me a DM on Instagram.