Foundation Paper Piecing Tutorial with Liza Taylor - Diary of a Quilter

I'm so excited to share this guest tutorial from Liza Taylor about how to Foundation Paper Piece. Foundation Paper Piecing (FPP) uses a removeable paper foundation for a quilt block design. This provides precise control over fabric placement and seam alignment, resulting in sharp, accurate quilt blocks. This method also allows for intricate designs and patterns that might be difficult to achieve with traditional piecing methods.

There is a little bit of a learning curve when it comes to FPP, but with some practice, this method can open up a whole new world of accurate piecing options. I'm so excited to introduce Liza Taylor - and FPP pro - to share a basic beginning tutorial for this awesome technique.

How to Foundation Paper Piece a Quilt Block

Hi there! My name is Liza Taylor from Liza Taylor Handmade and I am so excited to share a tutorial for foundation paper piecing (FPP) today! If you haven’t tried FPP yet, it can be intimidating at first, but I promise that once you try it you will be hooked!

I have also included a free heart pattern that you can try out and practice on. Get that pattern here!

I love FPP for its intricacy and accuracy. My passion is teaching others how to do FPP because I know this technique will bring you so much joy. It makes for quick and satisfying projects that can be made in an afternoon. Let’s get into the tutorial!

Tools Needed for Foundation Paper Piecing:

FPP template: print out the pattern templates at 100% scale and measure the 1” test block to make sure they printed correctly. You can use specific FPP paper, or regular printer paper (what I use).
Thread: I use 50wt thread, but you can also use lightweight 80wt thread.
Pins
Fabric
Cutting Mat
Rottary Cutter
Fabric Scissors
Quilting ruler: I love the “add-a-quarter” ruler for FPP. It has a handy ledge that makes it super easy to cut your seam allowance.
Iron or Seam Roller
Optional: Lightbox. See my all time favorite one HERE.

To begin, download and print my free simple heart pattern HERE. make sure to measure the 1” test block on each printed template and make sure it has been printed accurately.

Now it is time to cut your fabrics. I like using scraps and cut offs for these. Each section of the patterns are numbered and colored, so pick what fabrics you want for each section. The hardest part for beginners is getting the right size of fabric for the sections. If you are worried, I recommend cutting them bigger than you think. You can always trim it and use the scraps for another section later. Otherwise, I recommend trimming them at least ½” bigger than the section on the pattern you are using it for.

The process of foundation paper piecing is sewing the fabric onto the paper and then removing the papers, leaving the fabric block intact. Because of this, you want to shorten your stitch length on your machine to make tearing out the papers easier. I always go with a stitch length of 1.5-1.8.

A tool that I really enjoy using for FPP is a lightboard. If you don’t have one, you can use a window, the light from your machine, or even your phone flashlight. Having a light source really helps make sure you have the whole section covered with fabric. I really love the lightboards from Cutterpillar as they are really bright and come with a cutting mat.

Foundation Paper Piecing - Step by Step

I'm going to demo the creation of this Take Flight butterfly block. You can find the pattern for this FPP block in my shop.

Butterfly FPP quilt block by Liza Taylor Handmade

The first thing you are going to do after printing the pattern is cut out your templates on the dotted line.

Once they are cut, place your template face down. You will then place your first fabric face up on the back side of the number 1 section. Make sure it overlaps the surrounding sections by at least ¼”. Pin the fabric in place or hold it tightly so it doesn’t move. The photo below shows how much it should overlap.

How to Use a Foundation Paper Piecing Pattern

Once you have done that, locate where the second section is and where your fabric needs to go. Lay your 2nd fabric right sides together with the first fabric, making sure the second fabric overlaps the line between section 1 and 2 by at least ¼”. Pin in place.

Take the piece to your sewing machine and flip it over, so the printed template is face up. Sew on the solid line between section 1 and 2. I like to backstitch at the beginning and at the end to reinforce the stitch line.

Lay your sewn template with the print right side up. Unpin the fabrics. You will now trim the seam. To do this, fold back the paper template at the line you just sewed. Trim ¼” away from that line. I like to use the “Add-a-Quarter” ruler, but you can use any ruler you have.

Flip the piece over, so the fabrics are face up. Either iron the fabric, or use a seam roller to open and make it lay flat.

You will then flip the template back over and fold the template on the seam line between 1, 2, and 3. If needed, trim ¼” above that line to get ready for the next section.

Flip the template over and line up your third piece of fabric with that cut line. Pin in place.

Turn the template over and sew on that solid line. Repeat these steps until you have all sections pieced.

Lay the template on your cutting mat with the printed part facing up. Trim the fabrics down to the dotted line. Repeat for all the sections.

Sew all the sections together with a ¼” seam allowance, or on the solid lines. Please note that I have included sewing directions on each of my templates with arrows showing which pieces go together.

Once all sections have been sewn together, you have finished your block! Give it a good press with your iron and it is all done. You did it!

Thank you so much, Liza!

Liza made some beautiful mini quilts last year with my Albion fabric collection. I LOVE how her wildflower patterns dovetailed so beautifully with my wildflower-inspired collection!