A number of people have asked me about hand piecing recently so I made a video. It's just a little home movie - nothing flash - but I think it covers all you need to know.
It's interesting that when I grew up in the 1980's in New Zealand my mum taught me how to English Paper Piece with hexagons. It was a relaxing way to hand sew fabrics together.
But when I met Willyne Hammerstein from the Netherlands, she said that people in Europe grew up hand piecing, and they didn't understand why we insisted on wrapping fabric around papers (English Paper Piecing).
Now more and more of us who grew up English Paper Piecing are wanting to try hand piecing. We realise that English Paper Piecing large quilts is hard on our hands and we think hand piecing will be gentler. I've certainly enjoyed hand piecing the three large quilts I've made to date:
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| Glitter - designed by Jen Kingwell of Amitie Textiles |
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| Bella Ruby pattern by Emma Di Stefano of Tree House Textiles |
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| Pieces of the Past designed by Wendy Whellum of Legend and Lace |
So, my little video will show you how I hand piece. The actual stitching starts at 10:30 if you want to jump ahead to the sewing part.
I hope you find it useful. If you have comments or questions just leave a comment below or on the video, or send me an email via the box on the right hand side of my blog.
Now it's time for the Peacock Party. What have you been up to this week? I've been glued to the Australian Open tennis on TV, but I have been doing quilting while I've been watching. Feel free to share a recent blog post below.
25 comments:
Thank you so much for creating a video about hand piecing. It's something I'd love to try but always seemed a little overwhelming. I'll go and have a look now.
Hope you have a lovely stitchy weekend :)
I'm going to have to try some hand piecing. The last time I EPP'd, my left hand hurt from hold the pieces together and had to quit. Thanks for the tutorial!
I'll definitely be watching your video some time in the future. Thank you for taking the time to make it. Although I've hand quilted many quilts I've never hand pieced one. I want to make Jen Kingwell's Daisy Do and I think that will have to be hand pieced. I machine pieced my Glitter quilt but don't think that will work very well for Daisy Do.
I lived in Japan for 20+ years where the patchwork standard is definitely hand piecing, and seems to stems from the history of hand sewing kimonos. I especially enjoy hand piecing blocks that are difficult to sew on a machine. I really admire your Glitter quilt.
Thank you for the tutorial. I wanted to make the Glitter quilt and found it difficult to do with the sewing machine. I might have to try to do it by hand and make a smaller quilt.
I learned how to hand stitch like your European friends and much prefer it to EPP. There are a few instances where I've had to EPP but the extra step of wrapping fabric around the papers really slows me down. Ah well, its all stitching, isn't it?
I love hand piecing and quite a lot of my quilts are hand pieced and they are queen size I find it so relaxing. Over the years I have turned to my machine more for piecing quilts but I still love the peacefulness of hand work - I like EPP for hexagons but not much else.
Thanks, it's a great video!
Thanks so much for the video. I just took a hand piecing class from Jen Kingwell and your video filled in many of the holes from her piecing methods. You made it look so simple. Love your tip for the y seam.
It was also great sewing and hearing you.
I was also thinking about you last week. I wore the possum gloves from the new Zealand company you recommended. So warm and comfy.
Can hardly wait to see what you do next.
Sue from california
that was a terrific tutorial. I sure appreciate it! I've done EPP and like it, but want to try more intricate hand piecing as it seems more durable that the whip stitch of EPP. I now live in Colorado, but am from the Maryland area and know Ginny Beyer well. She always hand pieces the most intricate quilt patterns and even when watching her I didn't think I could be as accurate, but now I'm going to try it!
LeeAnna at not afraid of color
Thanks for the video on EPP. May I link to it for one of my upcoming BOM patterns to be released in March?
MelvaLovesScraps(at)NolanQualityCustoms(dot)com
Hey Wendy!!! What a fantastic video!! Thank you for showing us all the tools you use and explaining everything perfectly!! Now I want to hand piece!!! Oh my!!!!
Brilliant first video, Wendy. Thanks for doing this, you make it seem very achievable.
Thanks for your video! Have just started my journey with hand piecing and I have just sen I am doing it all wrong. So very useful and I am now off to my happy place to have another go.
Understand completely but do enjoy your blog. Very helpful for an inexperienced quilter like me.
Glenys Wild
I want to try hand piecing; thank you for that lovely video...
hugs, Julierose
Thanks for the video. You have inspired me.
Thank you for taking the time to make this video. I always wanted to try hand piecing but didn't know how to start. You make it look enjoyable and fun. Really appreciate your knowledge on tools and method. I always look forward to reading your blog and seeing your gorgeous quilts.
Thank you for your hand piecing tutorial. I would like to make a Millefiori quilt and did some English paper piecing with freezer paper and glue and found the prep work ridiculously time consuming. I can see hand piecing being such an easier process. I had not seen the knot you used before either which you made look so easy.
Thank you so much for making the video on hand piecing, especially showing the "Y" seams and tailor's knot. I've wanted to start hand piecing, and your video's provided me with inspiration and the confidence to actually begin!
Great tutorial. I love to hand piece - both traditional hand piecing and EPP. I'm currently working on a 24 inch Carpenter's Wheel with the diamonds, not half square triangles. Lots of Y seams, so I'm hand piecing and really loving the tight corners. Thanks for the hint on using the tailor's knot to avoid the bulk in the corners.
Wonderful tutorial Wendy! I have hand pieced blocks for two different quilts years ago, but was never very successful at making the tight corners. Your video really helps explain how to do that. Thank you! I have been tempted to try EPP many times but just couldn't quite understand the extra work involved.:)
Brilliant video! I'd never have considered hand piecing but now I'm keen to give it a go!
I love hand piecing...last year I worked on Sarah Fielke's Grasshopper project and enjoyed the block making very much. I just don't find working with the machine as enjoyable. I love your video and I've bookmarked it to look back at. You did a great job, Wendy.
I love hand work and particularly like having projects with me to take on the road and away from my sewing machine. Hand piecing sounds like a great option and your work is beautiful! Thank you for the instructions and pointers. I plan to try this!
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