EPP - English Paper Piecing Tutorial: Part Two - How to Glue Baste

Welcome to SewPsyched!!

Today's tutorial is about how to GLUE BASTE for EPP. 

Let's get started!! 

Materials:

Fabric glue pen

High quality fabric

Paper or plastic templates

Let's talk Glue!

• Use FABRIC glue or SCHOOL glue so that it will wash out.
• Fabric glue has a dye that dries to clear. This dye makes it so that you can see where you have placed your glue. So handy!!
• A glue pen is super handy as it can be packed anywhere, is not messy, and contains the glue well. Liquid glue will get everywhere. Save it for glue basting bindings.
• NEVER NEVER NEVER iron your glue when glue basting EPP!! Ironing fabric or school glue sets it and will make it impossible to remove from your papers (you are gluing fabric to paper). Iron glue when glue basting bindings in order to set it and prevent it from slipping (you are gluing fabric to fabric). But never when EPP'ing with papers!!

Let's talk Thread!

• Use a 50 wt thread. 50 wt threads are light, so will show less as stitches, and are strong enough to stand up to actual use. I use Aurifil 50 wt in a color that matches as closely as possible to my fabric. I may use 10 or more different threads on one project! On this project I used Aurifil 2800, a very pale seafoam, and it blended perfectly with all of my colors. It is also less bright than an off white, so will reflect light less in case any does happen to show. Bonus!!
• Now is NOT the time to use old thread!! Get rid of it!! But keep the spools for photo shoots and pretty projects. Old thread disintegrates and will fall apart when your project is in use. 
• To polyester or not to polyester?? That is the question. It's up to your personal taste. I use poly thread when I want more sheen in my work. Since I don't want any of my stitches to show when I'm constructing a piece, and steal attention from my finished product, I don't use polyester in construction. I WOULD use it to decorate all over my piller, though!!

Glue basting is super fast and super easy!!! 

1. Cut your fabric into a shape that is at least 1/4" larger than your template, all of the way around. For my 1.5" (measured across the short middle) diamonds I cut rectangles of 2.25" by 3.25".

2. Lay the fabric in front of you, long side towards you.

3. Place the template at an angle to the fabric. 

NO!! Your points will have fuzzy edges, turn your diamond at an angle.

Yes!!! Plenty of coverage :)

4. Dot a couple of dots of glue on the fabric. You can also turn the glue pen so that you are using just an edge of the sticky surface, and draw a very thin line along the entire edge. They both work equally well to hold your fabric onto your template. It will be slightly harder to remove the template if you glue all along each edge. But no worries!!! Remember, less is more, here!!!

5. Fold the fabric across the edge of the template, maintaining its position on the template. Finger press/crease the edge. Repeat the gluing for the Opposite Edge.

It's important to glue opposite edges so that your template is held securely in the center of your fabric, without slipping. If you glue clockwise or counterclockwise around your template, you will end up with a lot of fabric at the beginning and a very small edge at the end. Ack!!!

6. Now glue dot the sides, fold them onto the template and finger press into place. 

Yes. That is a lot of extra fabric. No, it will have no impact on your final project! I like for beginners to have this extra fabric, so that when they quilt their project, the quilting goes across the extra fabric and gives more support to their hand stitching. That way the stresses of actual use won't pop the hand stitches out because your quilting is going along next to them, in this extra fabric :)

7. If you would like less fabric behind your templates, or are an intermediate sewist, go ahead and make a template that is 1/4" larger, all around, than your EPP template. Cardboard is nice. Or clear template plastic if you wish to fussy cut. Then cut pieces of fabric and glue as per the above instructions. 

Be certain not to pull your fabric TIGHT against the template!!! You'll need quite a bit of wiggle room in order to sew the pieces together!!! See how the bottom diamond looks a little rounder than the top diamond, on the edges. That's much better:) 
The top diamond is going to be AWFUL to sew together with other diamonds...

*TIP*

Never never never never never never never ever never iron your glue basted shapes while the templates are in them!!!

Heat sets the glue and makes it next to impossible to remove the paper templates.

You should never iron plastic templates, anyhoo;) 

Now you know how to glue baste for EPP! 

Woo!!

Click here to go to the tutorial for Thread Basting in Epp, and click here for How to Assemble an EPP project and instructions for the Paperie Pillow of Lerve :)

XX!

Lori

Sew My Stash 2015 March Challenge. It's on!!

Woo!!!
It's March, the heat's back on (after three weeks, brrr!), and the Sun is shinin'! Now what could be better than that??
I know what!! Another Sew My Stash 2015 Throwdown!!

You haven't seen me here for awhile, 'cause it was too cold to sit next to the window, without heat, and type. But that doesn't mean that I didn't accomplish anything during February! No, I and my handy dandy sit-upon heating pad manned up and got it done!!

So here are my finishes for February for the Sew My Stash 2015. Eat your hearts out, they're all going as gifts to other folks!!

First up is my mini quilt for Madi at Shop Corner 52. We were partners in the #BitchesgetstitchesSwap. If the hashtag doesn't give enough of a clue, it was a swap of items that were bawdy, or swearing. I tell ya, I learned that there is a whole world out there about which I knew nothing!! Check out the #bitchesgetstitchesswap hashtag on Instagram and roll down the feed for alot of fun! But I'm warning you... Some of the items will light your eyes on fire!! Who knew the Brits and Aussies were so naughty??!

I will do an entire post on the construction of this mini. Such great paper piecing patterns from Quiet Play!

Second, I completed this mini wall hanging for a friend, but noone gets to see the whole thing until she has received it. Lol!! But you know I'll fill you in as soon as she does!

Velvet ribbon!! I just cannot get enough of it! 

Then, I finished this purse for my Niecey... I was pattern testing the pattern for The Littlest Thistle, so I can only give you a glimpse. A full reveal will occur when she releases the pattern. All I can say is, WOW!! Katy really puts alot of time and thought into her patterns, and it sure shows when you make them! Easy Peasy!!! Now I have two more that I have to make!! Lol!

Somebody's watchin' you! Sing it!

And, last, but certainly not least, I was a participant in a Round Robin quilt exchange with my quilting ladies, and I finished the last quilt. Woo!! We had our exchange last Wednesday, and I will do a complete post on all 8 of the quilts. They are AMAZING!!!! The one I received, is the best. I'm just sayin'. 

This is Rebecca's quilt. Have you been in a Round Robin exchange? I'd love to hear your stories!!

AND NOW...

MARCH'S SEW MY STASH 2015 THROWDOWN!!!

Ok, Anita!!! Here I go!! I challenge you to complete your list before I do mine.... or I owe you CHOCOLATE!!!

That's right!!! CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE!

(and no fair cheating, what with the stakes being so high, and all!!) ;)

I will complete:

1) The pattern for Cheeky Lattice, for Fat Quarterly. The top has been done for a month, and it is killing me to not show you all!!!! SOONNN!!!!!!! My quilting lady Denise, a fibre artist extraordinaire, is quilting it. But I still have to do the actual work of writing the instructions. 

2) PJ Pants. I. WILL. complete. a. pair. Even if it kills me. Which it might. I am not showing a pic of the materials, because I will probably change my mind twice, and make them out of entirely different stash than I originally intended. No wise cracks about my having a stash big enough to have several options in pj potential yardage ;)

3) Box Car Tote: Or TWO!!

What a nice sized tote to carry all of your stuff to retreats and sewing days!  One for me and one for ??? I'm taking a class with my quilty peeps from the SewAlaskan instagrammers. Fun!!! 

This is my project for  A Lovely Year of Finishes over at Sew Bittersweet Designs. 

4) Another Mini Messenger Bag, or two!!! Here are my stash pulls for them. What do you think??

Flap of Anna Marie Horner Echinacea, body of Aubergine and blue, gusset of aubergine, interior of Alison Glass.

AND

Flap of Joel Dewberry mod, interior of Alison Glass at left, pocket of Pickle, exterior of Kona Charcoal, flap lining of Kona Teal Shade. I tell you, these things are worse than potato chips! You can't make just one!!

6) I am also incredibly honored to have been asked to participate in the International blog hop for Oakshott Fabrics new line, Scandinavia.

Oh my!!! Aren't they completely Delicious??!!!

Oakshott fabrics are shot cottons, which means that the warp and weft are two different colors. This gives them an iridescent glow and a luxuriousness that is really so lovely. I like them better than my Kaffe Fasset shot cottons, because they are softer to the hand, and are such a nice weight. Perfect!!

I cannot wait to get started on this project!! Woo!

I hope you had a Fabulous February and are ready for a Marvelous March!!
XX!
Lori

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