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| Some papers come off easier than
others. The heavier papers require more of a pull. Just pulling on
the paper may make the thicker papers rip out your stitches at the
ends if you didn't use a short enough stitch length.
The thinner papers like tracing paper, almost fall off in your lap. |
I always take one back-stitch before the seam at the beginning and one back-stitch right after the seam at the end of the stitching. I have had a lot of people say that if you cross over that stitching with another seam that the thread will hold, but I have found it still pulls out when you rip off the paper and you have to go back over and stitch it by hand. It's just so easy to hit the backstitch button once and then go on with the sewing. That is just My Humble Opinion (MHO).... |
| Try this tip: One day I had a fit of temper because it was taking forever to get the paper off the block and in my rage I tugged at the block from opposite ends. I'm not talking from top corner to top corner, I'm taking about through the center from on corner to the other corner on the bias of the block. One would think that doing that would mess up the pattern but it didn't. Low and behold, pulling on the bias of the block, popped the paper right off! I had to immediately tell the foundation list serve of my "discovery" and it got such rave reviews on this tip that an author/teacher uses it now. | I have found
it best to remove the paper from the corners of your block before sewing
to another block. If you don't, they get caught when you fold
over the seam and you just can't get to it then.
I take off all the paper in the seam allowance before sewing the blocks together. I do this by "unthreading" my sewing machine and sewing over the seam allowance line on the pattern, then pulling off the paper. I just think that it is easier to match up that way too, without all that paper in the way. I think your stitches are tighter on the seams too without all that paper to sew through. This is especially true if you use heavier weight paper. You pull off that paper and then you can sometimes see the stitching in the seams, especially if you didn't use a small enough stitch length. |
| More tips I picked up from the internet or from list serves. | |
| For heavier papers: If you run the tip of a seam ripper over the stitching lines on the back after you sew, it helps to release the paper. Don't push so hard you cut your fabric! | Some insist that you need a very large needle to perforate
your paper as you sew foundations on paper in order for the paper to come
off easily. Others say you don't need a large needle as long as you
use a very sharp one and a very short stitch length.
I use a small needle and a short stitch length but I also use very thin cheap typing paper for my foundations...so experiment! |
| Hard to get to pieces will fall off with a little spritz
of water. The paper will "mush up" and you can brush it off.
I actually had someone tell me that they dunk their whole finished quilt top in a bucket of water and the paper just dissolves. I haven't done this but that is something that I was told! |
Before you begin to sew, fold the pattern on all the lines and crease well with your fingernail. this weakens the paper, and as you sew, you will have the lines to follow on the blank side. This also extends your sewing lines into the seam allowance for easier starting and stopping at the outside edge of the seam allowance. |
| From: Priscilla
Chase (Purr) Marchbanks
When you are finished with the patch and ready to remove the paper, dip a cotton-tipped swab (Q-tip) in alcohol. Squeeze just enough to keep it from dripping. Lightly moisten the seam on the paper side and tear off. Do just one or two seams at a time as the alcohol will dry fast. I found that alcohol is preferable to water and so far has never left a mark. The trick is to wet the paper just enough, not so much that it soaks through to the fabric. It might be a good idea to practice on a fabric scrap to see if the alcohol will discolor your fabric. |
Before you begin to sew down fabric to the pattern, unthread your sewing machine and lengthen the stitch, then pre sew over all the lines with the un-threaded needle. This also weakens the paper, but you will have nice little holes to follow on what "would have been" a blank opposite side. Don't make your stitches too short or you will shred your paper before you start to piece. |
| From: Mary
Rohlman: I prepare my papers before sewing them by using
a sewer's tracing wheel--the type with teeth--like a rotary cutter on the
paper. It leaves perforations similar to postage stamps on the paper.
The down side of this method is that the tracing wheel, although it is
a very cheap tool, is not very sturdy, and I've broken more than one after
several uses. Fiskars also makes a perforating
rotary blade for a 45 mm rotary cutter. It's more sturdy and the
perforations are a little more defined. The down side of this one
is that the teeth on the blade are rather large, so it is not good on
tiny pieces. I find a combination of both tools is best.
Using the rotary cutter-method on my papers before I start is quicker than perforating them with the sewing machine (which works, but I think it is tedious), and it leaves a mark on the reverse side of the pattern that makes placing the material much easier. I don't have to worry so much about what type of paper I use, although I've had good luck with newsprint sold in tablets for children's use. |
From: Barb Vlack: She wrote the
following Sew Precise instructions for sewing the curved blocks in Sew
Precise.
1. Print out the pattern for the entire block. Do not cut the arc section away from the rest of the pattern. 2. Piece the triangle arc section of the block. 3. Trace the other arc sections on freezer paper (found on store shelves by the foil and waxed paper) and cut them out, including the seam allowance for the outside edge of the block. 4. Iron the paper onto the wrong side of the fabric. 5. Cut out the fabric with a ¼" seam allowance all the way around the freezer paper. 6. Use a glue stick to glue the fabric seam allowance of the curve to the freezer paper. Carefully ease the outside curve and clip the inside curve seam allowance as necessary to keep the folded edge smooth. 7. Thread your sewing machine with a good nylon filament as the upper thread and a #60 2-ply thread in the bobbin, matching the background fabric color. Stitch a tiny invisible zigzag that barely catches the edge of the arc to the pieced arc. 8. After stitching, carefully lift the arc fabric and remove the freezer paper. Trim, if necessary. Here is a new tip from Barb, to add to her instructions above: When I position the machine applique piece, I carefully pin with silk pins. The point is toward the seam line -- it's the thinnest part of the pin that might project just a little into the seam line. I use as many pins as I need to stabilize the piece. If the seam line is a little bulky, I'll pin before and after and carefully feed the fabric under the needle so the fabric does not move. I have made perfect patches this way. |
| Let me know if you have any great tips to add. | By the way... unless from someone else, these tips are all MHO! |