How To Foundation Piece

 

Foundation Piecing Directions:

Foundation piecing allows you to accurately and quickly piece quilt blocks. All blocks include a 1/4" seam allowance around the completed piece, which is shown on my patterns as a light dotted line. The darker, inside lines are sewing lines. The fabric pieces do not need to be cut precisely; you will trim them as you stitch. Make sure your pieces are at least 1/4" larger on all sides than the section on the pattern that they will cover. Set your machine to a short stitch length, about 12-16 stitches per inch. You will be stitching with the right (marked) side of the paper facing up and the fabric underneath next to the sewing machine.

Foundation piecing may be done using regular (thin) paper, or freezer paper.  Regular paper needs to be torn off afterwards as you sew directly through the paper. When using freezer paper, you fold back the edge of the paper on the seam line and stitch BESIDE the paper, not through it. The shiny side of the freezer paper temporarily adheres to the fabric when pressed but removes easily when piecing is complete.

To Foundation Piece Using Freezer Paper:

Make copies of the foundation directly onto the freezer paper.  Your lines should be on the PAPER side, NOT the waxy side. Freezer paper foundations may be reused several times. Depending on the "stickiness" of the freezer paper used, some foundations last for 3 or 4 blocks, others last up to 8. When your foundation no longer sticks to the fabric when ironed, you will know it's time to use a new foundation. 

To begin, score along each seam line on the foundation and fold back the paper to the front along each line as you go. Doing this makes it easier to have a sharp edge to follow when sewing.

Once the entire foundation is creased, place a piece of fabric right side out under section 1 with the wrong side of the fabric next to the shiny side of the foundation. Check to make sure that the section is covered by at least 1/4" of fabric all around. Press section 1 in place with hot iron.

Fold back the creased line between section 1 and 2.  

Trim your fabric 1/4" past this line. 

With paper still folded back, place the fabric for section 2 right sides together with this first fabric, lining up the edge of each fabric along where you have just trimmed.  Note that the fabric being added is not trimmed to size;  you will do that in the next step.  

Stitch the two pieces together as close to the folded edge of the foundation as possible (without stitching through the paper - you are just stitching the two fabrics right sides together.) 

Flip the foundation flat and press the fabric just added onto the freezer paper.  Trim outside edge of fabric roughly past the seam allowance.

Fold back foundation paper between the next section (i.e. between 2 and 3) and trim 1/4" past the fold as before.  Continue adding each new fabric in numerical order trimming as you go.

When your foundation is completely covered, trim along outside dotted edge.

Gently pull the freezer paper foundation away from the fabric, being careful not to pull out any stitches. It should remove easily.

Immediately stitch along all edges of your patchwork within the seamline -about 1/8" from each edge- to secure the seams.  That's all there is to it!