What Is Foundation Paper Piecing?
Foundation Paper Piecing (FPP) is a form of quilting that involves sewing fabric to a foundation (a piece of paper), in order to obtain precise results. Paper piecing is incredibly fun, and allows you to sew intricate quilt blocks that are outside the bounds of traditional piecing. However, there is a learning curve with FPP.
But don’t be afraid! Just start simple, and practice, and you will be an FPP superstar in no time.
When you are learning to paper piece, we recommend starting with a simple block, like the Square in a Square block (see the free template below). This will allow you to focus on the simple, repetitive steps involved in FPP. After you get these steps down, you can try more FPP gymnastics with intricate blocks. With FPP, the sky is truly the limit.
What you Need to Get Started:
- Download our Square in a Square PDF Template
- An Add A-Quarter or Add An-Eighth Inch Ruler
- Sharp, Glass-Head Pins or Glue Stick
- A hot iron (this is our splurge but any iron will do) or a Seam Roller
- A rotary cutter and self-healing mat
- A small rotary cutting ruler
- A printer and computer paper or Foundation Piecing paper
- Optional: Wafer Light Board and Cutting Mat (if you decide FPP is your personal quilt-calling and you want to dive in with both feet)
