What is Paper Piecing?

I have had allot of people ask me this question and thought it might be helpful to explain just what it is.  

Here goes...Paper piecing is a work of art really. It is made from several individual pieces of paper or cardstock that have been cut and assembled to create a full color copy of your pattern. 

How do I paper piece?

You start out with an image, it could be a clip art image, coloring book page, drawing, photograph or just about anything! The clearer the image the better. You can either use this as your pattern or make a black and white pattern from it. See images below. Instead of coloring in all the sections with markers, crayons, or pencils you trace the pattern on to the colored cardstock or paper. You can either use a stylus and trace the pattern onto your cardstock or use a light box with the pattern below the cardstock and trace with a acid free marker/pen.

You then cut the pieces out and with your pattern as a guide you assemble the pieces.

   Original image                      Pattern I made               2 paper piecings finished from pattern

The pictures above show the original image I started with. It wasn't clear enough to use as a pattern so I made one by tracing it onto a plain piece of paper with my light box. The finished sample photo shows finished paper piecings both different, but made form the same pattern.

Most of the paper piecings you see listed online have anywhere from 5 - 60 individual pieces of cardstock to create them. An average piece can take from 30 minutes to several hours to complete.

More Paper piecings  Click this link to see more Handmade paper piecings!

There are other types of "Paper Piecings" that are now becoming available online. While they are still calling them paper piecings these new ones are computer generated and are made by printing several copies of the same image, cutting different parts out and layering them to create a 3-D effect. The process is similar, but not as handmade. They are less expensive to buy beacuse they do not require the time that the non-computer generated ones do. Beware of what you are getting if you are buying and if you are wanting to learn, computer generated might be the easiest way to start.

Whether you are looking to buy or looking to make, I hope this gives you a better understanding of what paper piecing is and how much work can go into making these wonderful additions to your scrapbook.

If you have any questions on how to get started, contact me! I am always willing to help or answer any questions!