Big important deal - always use a very small stitch. On a Bernina, use at most a 1.5 stitch length. Use thread that matches one side or the other. For example: if you are making a block with red points on a white background, use red thread, or at least a thread value that matches the darker side.
Piece one example of every block that you will use to make your quilt before cutting all your strips. This will give you a chance to try our suggested cutting sizes to make sure they work for you. PUt the block up on a design wall and get a good look at it. If you don't like the color or fabric placement, you can still change it.
When you are laying down the very first patch, place the first fabric right side facing you, against the wrong side of the paper, turn over and hold to the light to see that all sides have at least a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Put 1 pin in from the paper side to hold in place. Turn over and lift patch and put a small dot of glue stick between fabric and paper. Remove pin. Lay second patch, right sides together, matching the edge you are about to sew, place a small piece of removable tape to hold the two second patches in place. Flip the second patch as if you had sewn it, hold up to the light again to check placement. If everything looks good, you can turn it over and sew on the seamline. When you gain confidence in paper piecing, you may not always have to check the placement.
I always work with multiple blocks of the same variety - in fours, sixes, twelves, etc. I sew the pieces of fabric to each block, then go to my ironing board and press all the blocks at the same time. When pressing, press the seam flat as it was sewn to set the stitches before flipping it open and pressing again. I have never found an alternate method to work as well as the good old steam iron applied with a heavy hand.
After I press, I go back to my cutting mat and do the next step. With the printed side of the block towards you, lay a postcard (old raffle quilt postcards are perfect) across the next seam line that you are going to sew, and fold the paper only, back over the postcard. You can either eyeball a 1/4" seam from the folded edge or use an "Add a Quarter" ruler, as I do, to trim the excess fabric with your rotary cutter.
DO NOT sew around the seam line at the outside edge of the block. It's a bear to tear the paper away from that teeny seam section. And unless you are far more complusive than I am, you will nevver be able to sew exactly ont he thread line. you will find yourself picking out nasty little stitches that show on the front side of your quilt.
After the blocks are pieced and you have all these ragged ends hanging out over the edges, flip them over to the paper side and lay a ruler along the seam line and trim to 1/4". Don't trim the blocks as a whole to a certain size because you may be cutting off points or areas that are needed for the pattern. It is better to ease blocks together if there is any discrepancy in their sizes. Paper piecing is the most accurate method known to exist in the minds of quilters, but fabric is human, you know!
Take the paper off before you pieced the blocks together. If there is paper in the seams, it is hard to get out and will make "loose" seams. I always save up my paper removing chores to do all at once, when there is a good television show on - like "West Wing" - or we have rented a good movie. The Olympics are good too, but that would mean you'd only make one quilt every two years. Paper has grain - if it shreds in one directions, try pulling it off from the other. Crease paper along the stitching line with your fingernail if you are having trouble.
When sewing the blocks together, make sure to use a "scant" 1/4" seam allowance. Press seam flat as sewn first then press as many seams open as possible. You won't get struck by lightning, I promise, and your corners will lie flatter, to say nothing of doing away with that awful ridge you get with doubled seams allowances. When you are sewing your blocks together, revert to those hand piecing lessons you took, and poke straight pins through both blocks on the seam lines in areas that "must" go together properly, such as, at points that have to match, where seams meet, etc. Pin on both sides of the intersections. The time you siave by not pinning will seem very unimportant when you are picking out points that don't match. Always try to join long lines of blocks, either straight or diagonally, rather than in sections as this will produce a smoother looking quilt.
If, horror of horros, your strip of fabric is too short, but you don't discover it until you press the seam open (guess who this has happened to), just clip enough of those teensy stitches so that you can piece another small segment of fabric to the first piece and re-sew on the line. Chances are, it will be in the seam line and you will never see the pieced seam.
If, (another H of H) you have screwed up and sewn the wrong piece of fabric to your block, put a piece of cellophane tape on top of the seam line on the printed side of the pattern and take a tiny scissors with sharp points and clip the stitches between the two layers of fabric. When you re-stitch over that seam, the tape will become perforated and will tear away with the paper.
As you complete your blocks, put them up on your design wall: foamcore board, Styrofoam, or flannel. Arrange them according to our pattern. Then rearrange them to see if there is something you would like better! The sight of all those blocks up there will encourage you to keep going, to see what just a few more would look like.
