patchwork Patchwork or "pieced work" is a form of needlework that involves sewing together pieces of fabric into a larger design. The larger design is usually based on repeating patterns built up with different fabric shapes (which can be different colors) ...

, foundation piecing was originally a method used to stabilize pieces of

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

that were stitched together. It first became popular in the 18th and 19th centuries in England, although a 15th-century Italian piece, the

Impruneta Impruneta is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany. The population is about 15,000. Name and production The name Impruneta is derived from ''inprunetis'' meaning "within the pine woods", and is ...

cushion owned by

Antonio degli Agli Antonio degli Agli (died 1477) was a Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Volterra (1470–1477), Bishop of Fiesole (1467–1470), and Bishop of Dubrovnik (1465–1467). ''(in Latin)''English paper piecing. Originally pieces of

scrap Scrap consists of Recycling, recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap Waste valorization, has monetary ...

muslin Muslin () is a cotton fabric of plain weave. It is made in a wide range of weights from delicate sheers to coarse sheeting. It gets its name from the city of Mosul, Iraq, where it was first manufactured. Muslin of uncommonly delicate handsp ...

were used as the foundation. Recently, the use of

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...

, whether

tracing paper Tracing paper is paper made to have low opacity, allowing light to pass through. It was originally developed for architects and design engineers to create drawings that could be copied precisely using the diazo copy process; it then found ma ...

, freezer paper or some other heavyweight paper, has become very popular for use as a pattern, in creating

quilt block In the textile arts, a motif (also called a block or square) is a smaller element in a much larger work. In knitting and crochet, motifs are made one at a time and joined together to create larger works such as afghan blankets or shawls. A ...

s that are all the same size, each with precise, sharp points and perfectly matched intersections. In addition, information such as color and fabric choices can be written on the paper foundation in order to facilitate the construction of the piece and reducing room for error while

sewing Sewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a sewing needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fabr ...

. With paper piecing, a shorter stitch length (e.g. 12 stitches per inch) is used when sewing the components together. This perforates the foundation, making it easier to tear away after the block is completed. Several methods can be used to prepare the design for use on the foundation: tracing, photocopying, computer printing, needle punching, and pre-set designs. There are three primary techniques used when foundation piecing: top pressed, under pressed and single template piecing. The technique used is dependent upon your preference and the pattern of the design being sewn. However, under pressed piecing allows for greater accuracy because the sewing is done right on the foundation with the fabric underneath, which allows the stitcher to view the marked seam line and sew directly on it.

References

Hall, Jane, ''The Experts Guide to Foundation Piecing'', C & T Publishing, Layfayette, CA, 2006. Anderson, Alex, "Paper Piecing With Alex Anderson: 7 Quilt Projects, Tips, Techniques", C & T Publishing, Layfayette, CA, 2011. {{Layered textiles Quilting