I’d like to share with you in this post some of the ways that you can stitch together your basted English Paper Piecing blocks. Be it hexagons, diamonds or even square or any shape possible really :).
This is following the series of English Paper Piecing Technique I have previously on the blog:
5 Ways How to Baste English Paper Piecing Templates
How to Cut English Paper Piecing Printable Templates
I’d like to share with you in this post some of the ways that you can stitch together your basted English Paper Piecing blocks. Be it hexagons, diamonds or even square or any shape possible really 🙂
Yes, EPP isn’t limited to the conventional shape. Check out these awesome EPP projects with non-common shapes if you are into diving in EPP adventures.
This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. Please find my full disclosure here.
5 ways to stitch English Paper Pieced blocks together
I am currently working on my slow project from the book 
If you are interested in the paper pieces I use in these videos, visit my resource library and find them there. If you haven’t subscribed to the Free Resource Library, sign up here.
1) Whip Stitch
This is the very stitch I learned for piecing together English Paper Pieces. They come together pretty fast and super easy.
The only thing is they will show up on the right side especially for thin fabrics and contrast colour thread.
2) Ladder Stitch
My newly turned favorite stitch these days for EPP!
It is invisible, can be pretty fast as the whip stitch once you’ve got the hang of it.
Here is a tutorial with me doing both these stitches:
3) Flat-back Stitch
A flat-back stitch is another invisible to the front stitch to piece together EPPs.
However, I do find that it made the whole pieced block somehow prefer to be folded to the back. And that kind of bothers me.
For this stitch, you’ll need to piece them while it is flat as it would be finished. Therefore, you’ll need your clover clips to help.
Karen has a great tutorial for this flat-back stitch.
4) Feather Stitch
This one is more complicated than I thought it’d be, but the finish is an invisible stitch from the front and a pretty strong stitch I believe.
Haven’t tried this just yet, but Pat Bravo has an awesome video showing you exactly how to do one.
5) Machine Zig-Zag Stitch
What? Machine stitch? — Yes, machine stitch.
It may not be such a portable project anymore, but I love the idea of a fast finish!
It has a different finish, but still a fancy one.
In fact, you probably can mix it up by trying other fancy stitches that you probably rarely use on your machine.
Here is how you can possibly finish up an EPP block with a fine zigzag stitch on the sewing machine.
Which stitch do you use for piecing your English Paper Piecing projects?
Let me know which stitch do you use to piece together your EPP? Are you intrigued to try any other stitches I mentioned here?
If you do, let me know how did you go and how you like it. Everyone will have their own of preference, I prefer the ladder stitch, but whip stitching is faster for me because I have had more practice with that.
What do you do while your hands are at EPP?
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8 Comments on 5 ways to stitch shapes together using English Paper Piecing method
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I am so completely elated that you made this post! I had seen (I’m not sure how long ago) a brief demo of the feather stitch but could not remember what it was called 🙁 Someone directed me to the flat back stitch, which I realized wasn’t exactly what I was searching for. So, I thank you for keeping me from searching for the next million weeks! I can’t wait to try this out (and if one fails, to try the others!)
I sometimes use a very tiny buttonhole stitch for joining patches. It’s very like the whip st, but the thread is brought around and under the needle tip before pulling the needle thru.
Interesting! I am yet to see such stitch..
Amira,
Thank you so much for all of this info!!! I am new to EPP have been struggling. Thread basting seems to be so loose lucy and glue…everything just seems to get stuck, then I have trouble pulling the papers out. I will not give up! I started quilting when someone gave me a huge stack of fabric. When something like that happens you gotta run with it. That was 6 years ago and I haven’t looked back. I appreciate all of your input.
Thanks, Jean
Hi Amira,
I love to quilt and all too! I have two different techniques I use for epp. If I’m using paper templates I prefer to thread baste around the back. But when joining them I lay the two being joined side by side face down so the seam is horizontal. I slip my needle under the fabric edge and sew into the adjoining piece, under that seam too. It’s like turning my hand needle into a sewing machine needle. I’m sewing along what would be the line followed by machine. Every 6 or 7 stitches I’ll backstitch once. Always sewing under the edge and above the paper.
My second preferred method is Inklingo. Fabric is prepped with freezer paper ironed on the right side. Then it’s easily run through your printer and shapes are printed on the back, ready to rotary or hand cut out. Seam allowances are drawn on and ready to join with a running stitch. It’s fast, easy and results are beautiful!
Thanks for your great article!
brok
Thank you so much for this post! I’m just starting on my first EPP project, and I was really unhappy with being able to see the whip stitches. I’m using highly contrasting fabrics, so a matching thread isn’t always going to be possible. I tried the ladder stitch and it looked much better. I think I’ll give the feather stitch a try too.
Just worked on my first EPP this winter . I used the whip stitch. Most of my stitches are barely visible. Diamonds were the blocks, six points. Very interesting! I decided to use a background fabric in same diamonds shape . Also decided the edges would be better if they were straightened up ….brain has to work to figure that one out!?
I will definitely work on another EPP project again, it was sooo different!