A Word About Pinning
for Paper Piecing and Machine Curved Piecing

     Have any trouble with "growing" blocks or matching points? The secret is in the pinning. The pinning method below works well for both curved piecing and paper piecing (when pinning along the paper to join sections). Good pinning ensures accuracy when matching points or the beginnings and endings of seams.

1st...get pins parallel Pin through the beginnings and ends of the seamlines you will be sewing. Also add any pins that join match points (the facing arrowheads on Paper Panache patterns, or the hatch marks in machine curved piecing).    The drawings at left look down between the two pieces of fabric from above. Slide the fabric around minutely until pins line up parallel to each other (see top drawing). Push pins in most of the way and leave them hanging, pressing the pieces together with your fingers. Turn the seamline back to face you.

2nd...secure the pins Leave the pins pushed through and hanging out the back until you get to each one in turn. The next pins you will add will run horizontally, joining the seamlines in front and back together. The pins will run next to the paper edges or, if you have traced around the pattern first, along the pencil line. Working from left to right: (Pin #1) Secure a pin horizontally along the seamline immediately to the right of the beginning pin. (Pin #2) Secure the beginning pin vertically. (Pin #3) Secure horizontal pins along the line (as many as needed), each one to the right of its neighbor, until you reach a match point or the end of the seam. I usually pin close enough so they are almost head-to-tail. (The longer the seam is, you can usually put more space between them.) (Pin #4) Secure any match point pins vertically as you come to it. If this were a longer seam, continue pins horizontally to the right. (Pin #5) Secure the last pin horizontally along the seam line. The seam is ready for sewing. Basically: first pin and match points are vertical. All the rest are horizontal.    When you sew the seam, sew slowly from edge to edge immediately next to the paper pattern. Do not pull the pins out early-- as the needle gets to the sharp end of each pin, hold the head of that pin up lightly and the fabric will feed right off the pin as you sew, helping to keep the seam exactly as you have pinned it.

If this helped you, feel free to print this out for your paper-piecing friends.
Paper Panache, Images and Ideas for Paper Piecing
P.O. Box 2124, Winnetka, CA 91396-2124 / www.paperpanache.com

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