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. 

Roughly cut just outside the seam line. 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, I find it helpful to write the colours I am using in each section directly on the paper.  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 (blue) 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 so the printed side is up, and flip the new fabric (blue) to the right side, covering the freezer paper. Press the fabric just added onto the freezer paper.  Trim outside edge of fabric roughly past the seam allowance on the outside edge.

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!

To Join Curved Edges:  Find and mark the centres of the pieces to be joined.  These pieces have been folded in half and pressed to make the mark, but you may choose to place a pin at the centre of each.  Flip the piece being joined to the outside down over the bottom piece right sides together, matching the centres just marked.  Pin.

Add a pin at each end and at several places along the top curved edge, making sure the edges are aligned. 

As a little trick to keep your block straight and even, pin at the bottom edge of the section you are adding to hold the edges square.  Red circles below show the pins at the side bottom;  you DO NOT SEW ALONG THIS EDGE - it is simply to keep the block square.  Stitch carefully along the top curved edge with the patchwork on top, removing pins as you come to them.

Press seam allowance away from patchwork section. 

If another section is to be added to the outside of the block, proceed as above:  find the centre of each section, pin at each end and along the curved edge.  Then pin at the bottom of the piece being added.  Sew along the edge, and press seam allowance away from patchwork.