English Paper Piecing Archives

Posted on November 13, 2023November 13, 2023 by kustomkwilts

Hexie EPP Stocking Pattern

The Hexie EPP Stocking Pattern is finally here! This is a perfect pattern for a quick finish, and it saves time and fabric by not having to fussy cut. I designed these stockings to have a similar look to the cute Buffalo Plaid that has a more clean and modern Christmas-y look, but with hexagons. The pattern details how to make the stocking using the 3-color solids, or for a more fun look, a 6-color solid multicolor stocking. Using solids eliminates the need to spend tons of extra time fussy cutting, and you can use the stack and cut method to cut multiple hexies out at once. I think the most I was able to cut at one time was 8 pieces.

This pattern includes:

Detailed instructions for solids: 3-colors or 6-colors or fussy cut your own pieces
Pattern includes Youtube tutorial sew along to assemble the stocking
finished stocking measures 6” wide at top x 14” tall X 11″ wide heel to toe, complete with hanging loop
Blank coloring sheet to design your own colorway or plan for fussy cutting
Fabric requirements for the 3 and 6 color stockings
Detailed cutting diagrams
Full color diagrams and step outs
Stocking template
Printed pattern version includes a full sheet of hexie papers for you to copy and cut out yourself, should you choose
PDF version includes a printable sheet of hexie papers

So many options!

Kits for the Hexie EPP Stockings:

printed pattern, papers, and acrylic tempalte

Find the perfect kit for you! These solid stockings are curated in the perfect shades of Tula Pink solids by FreeSpirit. Grab the color that fits you, or make an entire fabulous rainbow gradient to fill your mantle!

If you aren’t a fan of fabric kits, you can also grab your own acrylic fussy cutting template and precut EPP papers to save you a little time. Or cut your own hexies with the papers that are included in the PDF or the printed pattern. Both options have a printed OR printable paper Hexie fussy cutting template.

Customizing your stocking

You can choose to quilt your stocking with fun hand quilting, easy domestic machine quilting with simple straight lines, or pick a fun pantograph and throw it on the longarm for a bit of punch! Alternatively, you don’t have to quilt the stocking at all and the inside is fully lined to protect all the seams. Pattern instructions include a hanging loop.

I’m so excited to finally share this pattern with you. I feel like I have been working on it for years and perfecting each version so it will bring you SO much joy when you make it. I hope you’ll share your makes with me using #HexieEPPStocking . Thanks for reading, friend, and happy sewing!!

Posted on July 7, 2023November 13, 2023 by kustomkwilts

Florence Market Tote Pattern

Love the look of a sleek, modern tote? I’ve got you. The Florence Market Tote pattern is a large carry all bag with a simple, but modern design to really upgrade your basic tote. It’s great for trips to the library, farmer’s market, or wherever you need to load up on supplies. The standard pattern tells you how to piece the exterior with Half-square triangles using the 8 at a time method to save time. This is great for the two color samples I have sewn up–or alternatively, you can grab some fabric scraps and make your individual half square triangles.

This pattern includes

Instructions for the Half-square triangle version on the cover of the pattern
A shortcut to skip straight to a wholecloth bag
Fabric labels that will help you easily and quickly identify every cut piece in your pattern
Panel of pockets to wrangle your phone, pens, and other slender items
An interior zip pocket
An inset zipper at the top of the bag that will keep all your precious contents contained
The option to skip all the pockets for a fast finish

I named this pattern after my maternal grandmother, Florence. She was always such a huge inspiration to me, and an amazing artist. She loved to paint, whether it was watercolor or oil paintings, and really had a knack for color. I miss her dearly, and I think she would have loved this tote!

The Florence Market Tote pattern has been years in the making, and I’ve made tons of versions! I love the look of the standard, HST version that is featured on the cover. You can re-arrange the Half square triangles to make the bag your own in whatever arrangement you like! And….I’ve got kits for those!

Kits for the Florence Market Tote

Florence Market Tote in freesia and ameythst — Quilted with the Raindrops on water pantograph

Quilted with the Raindrops on water pantograph

Wholecloth Versions

There are also instructions for what size you need if you’d prefer a quick Florence Market Tote wholecloth bag. I like to use big panels of my free motion quilting practice to turn them into bags instead of wasted yardage. If you have directional fabric, you can easily cut the fabric into two pieces and assemble the panel to be a wholecloth piece with both pieces of fabric facing the opposite direction. Solids really make the quilting pop on the wholecloth bags.

Quilted using a pantograph by Karlee Porter

Spellbound Version

And as you may know, I am a sucker for English Paper Piecing. I love making big quilts, like my Spellbound quilt, but sometimes I like to do less demanding projects. I pieced some of my Spellbound pieces together into a panel and made an awesome bag to showcase some of my favorite Tula Pink Daydreamer prints.

My Spellbound EPP pattern cut down to make a panel for the Florence market tote. Quilted with Modern curves pantograph

Additional Kits for the Scrappy Plus EPP tote:

And I’ve got some fabulous kits for you to piece your own panel to make a Scrappy Plus EPP Florene Market Tote. These kits include everything you need to piece the exterior panel (but do not include the Florence Market Tote Pattern–sold separately).

Tula Pink original solids with black and white stripe

This bag with the fussy cut stripes is one of my favorites!! I love using solids for EPP because you can stack and whack and make your cutting time dissolve into nothing. The kits I offer for this come with the solid fabrics labeled for easy identification and a helpful EPP guide printed in full color.

Tula Pink Unicorn Poop and Dragon’s Breath solids

The Mythical solids (Unicorn Poop and Dragon’s Breath) by Tula Pink version is another favorite. I used modern curves as the panto to quilt this one up and the EPP kit I have for this also comes with a full color guide and all of the fabrics labeled for easy identification.

Tiny Beasts/Tiny Coordinates Florence market tote – kit coming soon

Posted on October 27, 2021November 13, 2023 by kustomkwilts

Spellbound EPP – a magical quilt pattern

My labor of love (aside from longarming) this year has been the Spellbound EPP pattern! When Tula Pink released her black and white line called Linework, I knew I wanted to make something really special with it. I love black and white fabrics and adding a pop of color to them really sets them apart. I’ve had a blast on this journey picking the fabrics and fussy cutting different elements of each fabric to make it shine. The Spellbound quilt pattern will be available this Friday, October 29!

I am a little bit of a mover and a shaker. You know what I mean–I’m one of those people that can’t stand to just sit idle and not do anything. If you’re here, and reading this, you might have this problem too 😉 . If I have some free time and a free set of hands, you better believe I’ve got some EPP prepped and ready to go. Aside from longarm quilting (which I do almost all day), EPP is my favorite way to pass the time.

I always have a little EPP kit in my purse so that if I’m caught waiting at the doctor’s office, or getting my car inspected, or whatever, I always have a little something to keep me busy AND productive (I posted a list of my favorites at the end of this post). I hate wasting so much time on my phone when I could be sewing something, right!?

It’s such a convenient way to pack a little sewing kit and get things done when you otherwise couldn’t. I love the portability and convenience of EPP, and my daughter Gemma has even helped me finish a few stitches. You can see a ton of my Spellbound EPP shares by heading over to Instagram.

Posted on March 3, 2020November 13, 2023 by kustomkwilts

Trippy Triangles Quilt pattern release

I’m stoked to finally introduce to you the Trippy Triangles Quilt pattern! This quilt has been a pet project of mine for the last year (and then some). From picking just the right fabrics–I changed my fabrics several times before I finally got with it stitching–to fussy cutting, etc. and I’ve loved every minute of it. I’m currently working on another version and planning yet another with some fun fussy cutting 🙂

The thing with EPP

Here’s the thing with English Paper Piecing: It’s an obsession of mine. Aside from longarm quilting (which I do almost all day), EPP is my favorite way to pass the time. I always have a little EPP kit in my purse so that if I’m caught waiting at the doctor’s office, or getting my car inspected, or whatever, I always have a little something to keep me busy AND productive. I hate wasting so much time on my phone when I could be sewing something, right!? It’s such a convenient way to pack a little sewing kit and get things done when you otherwise couldn’t.

Posted on February 7, 2020November 13, 2023 by kustomkwilts

How to English Paper Piece – sewing pieces together

How to English paper piece

In this series of blog posts, I’ve talked about start up supplies (what my favorites are) and discussed glue basting (also my favorite). Now that you know how to prepare for sewing, lets get going! In this video, I’ll show you how I sew my paper pieces together once they’re basted. There are many, many ways to accomplish this. I’m showing my favorite methods, in case you haven’t seen them before, in the hopes of inspiring you to try new things!

There are different kinds of stitches you can use to sew the pieces together. My go to is a simple whip stitch, but I’ve heard people rave about the flat back stitch. I tried the flat back stitch, and it wasn’t for me–but you might love it (so def. check it out!).

how to english paper piece — Sewing the pieces together

Posted on February 6, 2020November 13, 2023 by kustomkwilts

How to glue baste – English paper piecing

How to glue baste…

I know, I know. I know what you’re thinking. Why do I need to know how to glue baste?? So before we get into it…let me just say that I am not the authority on english paper piecing. There are so many ways to get a finished project, and I certainly don’t claim to be the one holding all the answers. But I want to let you in on what has worked so well for me after lots of trial and error. And before I go on, I just want to say: ALWAYS TEST NEW PRODUCTS LIKE GLUE STICKS ON YOUR FABRIC PRIOR TO USING THEM IN AN ENTIRE PROJECT. The glue I use has never done me wrong, but that’s not to say you might not have a different experience.

Posted on February 5, 2020November 13, 2023 by kustomkwilts

English Paper Piecing – Getting started and basic supplies

If you’ve spent any amount of time on my blog or Instagram, you know by now that I LOVE sewing and quilting. SO much so that I like to have a travel-friendly project I can take with me, whether it’s in the car, waiting at the doctor’s office, taking my daughter to the dentist, etc., to help pass the time. While English paper piecing is fun, it is much slower than powering up your sewing machine and zipping through a few seams. There’s something meditative about it that helps the craziness of the world to fade away for just a moment and let you appreciate the thoughtfulness of a stitch. English paper piecing appealed to me first when I was still an ag teacher. A lot of times, I’d be on a school bus with kids and nothing to do for hours while we traveled to judging contest OR I’d be stuck in a hotel room at night, not able to go to sleep and wishing for something productive to do. So I started dabbling in EPP. My husband bought me the La Passacaglia kit (Pattern by Willyne Hammerstein) for my birthday and I was totally hooked. I want to take the time to share my favorite English Paper Piecing supplies and tips in the video below.