Priscilla is definitely not the Queen of my Desert! I foolishly went into this one thinking it would be a piece of cake with only two fabrics and minimal number of pieces, but oh how I was wrong. I don’t know whether it was the unusually warm day, my tiredness or just plain luck but I fought with both of these blocks. In the end I decided it was easier to walk away then to buy a new sewing machine as I would have needed a new one after punting it across the room in frustration. They’re far from perfect, but you know what who’s going to be able to tell at 100 paces?

If you’re foundation paper piecing this block (as I am in this tutorial) than please be aware that there is a numbering error on the foundation paper piecing patterns. C2 and D2 are labelled as C3 and D3 respectively. Please refer to your block diagram that is printed at the top of the pattern page 1.

Tutorial: Block #86 “Priscilla”
General Information

• See tutorial for seam pressing details.
• I used a Schmetz 70/10 needle.
• I used 50wt Aurifil #2600 (Dove) thread for piecing.
• I used  Flatter by Soak in Yuzu 248ml as my starch.
• I used Clover Wonder Clips to help keep my pieces in place.
• I used Translucent Vellum to print my pattern on.
• Fabrics shown in the tutorial are from the Gnome Angel Farmer’s Wife 1930’s Bundle from Fat Quarter Shop.

If you’d like to know “My Top 10 Beginners Patchworking Tools” you can find them by clicking here.

Measurements for the pieces needed to construct this block will not be provided in this tutorial. It is a pre-requiste of making this block that you have a copy of the book,  The Farmer’s Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt: Inspiring Letters from Farm Women of the Great Depression and 99 Quilt Blocks That Honor Them by Laurie Aaron Hird – available from: Amazon | Pink Door Fabrics | Fat Quarter Shop | The Quilting Company | Interweave (Affiliate Links). Measurements, where applicable, can be found in this book and it’s associated media.

On Point Blocks

Please note I am not doing my blocks on-point. If you are fussy cutting your blocks please be mindful of your fabric placement so that the motif will sit correctly if you decide to put your blocks on-point.

Conversion Chart

You can find the From Marti Michell Patchwork Template Conversion Charts by clicking here.

Helpful Links & Videos

• Block #46 Jewel Foundation Paper Piecing Tutorial.
• Block #2 Aimee Freezer Paper Foundation Paper Piecing Tutorial.
• Block #90 Sara Foundation Paper Piecing Tutorial.
• Rachel (of Wooden Spoon Quilts) no ripping foundation paper piecing tutorial.
• Melissa (of Miss Midge) paper piecing for Block #13 Belle tutorial.
• Cat (of Cat + Vee) paper piecing for Block #1 Addie tutorial.
• Andrea of Ellis & Higgs paper piecing for Block #2 Aimee.

Terminology

This method of block construction is called “Foundation Paper Piecing” however it can also be referred to as “Paper Piecing” which can get confusing as there is also a technique called “English Paper Piecing” (EPP) and it’s often referred to as “Paper Piecing”. I have tried to always refer to the technique as “Foundation Paper Piecing” in the tutorial, however I may slip up and refer to it as “paper piecing”. If paper piecing is mentioned in this post it only ever refers to foundation paper piecing.

How to Make the Block

General advice:

• Tolerance Levels: you need to decide what is an acceptable tolerance level for “mistakes”. For example if your blocks are consistently 6¼” instead of 6.5″ are you ok with this. Or if your seams matching are less than an eight of an inch “off” are you ok with this. There’s no hard or fast rule and it’s different for everyone, so remember it’s your quilt so make your decision for you.
• Press your seams at each step. Click here for a great article on how to press your seams for patchwork.
• You can iron and starch your fabric prior to cutting. I also starch when pressing bulky seams.
• When pinning, pin away from you so that you don’t move your pieces when pinning.
• Where possible I chain piece all the pieces I can in one step. If you’re unsure of what chain piecing is, click here for a tutorial on how to do it. However, for the purpose of the tutorials I will step you through all the seams individually.

If you are planning to hand piece this block, or even machine piece it based on the templates, you can find everything you need on the disc that came with the book. Block directions are located on page 245.

Printing Instructions: All of the foundation paper piecing patterns that were provided with the book are mirror images of the completed blocks pictured in the book. This is only an issue for blocks that are not symmetrical. This block is symmetrical and therefore you will not need to print it as a mirror image.

Printing Mirror Image: Due to the multitude of printers, computers and programs on the market I’m unable to provide specific support for your particular setup. However here is a tutorial on how to print mirror image for PDFs that also contains useful links. (Click here for the tutorial.)

How to Print Your Pattern: Due to the multitude of printers, desktops and programs on the market I’m unable to provide specific support for your particular setup, however the principles are the same for every program and printer. You need to ensure you’re printing at 100% scale. My printer automatically defaults to 94% when printing the templates and patterns. This is how I change the scale when I print on my Mac and with my Canon printer. The arrow points to where I amend the scale settings by clicking the checkbox for scale and then changing the amount to 100%. If you are unsure how to scale your printing I strongly recommend asking Google (simply type “how do I print to scale for <insert your printer name and desktop (whether mac or windows)>”) or getting a computer savvy friend in to help. Once you’ve worked it out you’ll be unstoppable when it comes to foundation paper piecing!

1. Print out the foundation paper piecing pattern for Block 86 Priscilla at a scale of 100%. Using paper scissors roughly cut out the foundation paper piecing pieces leaving approximately 1/8th of an inch of spare paper around the dotted line.

Tip: If you’re using Vellum grab each page off the printer as it prints and then lay them out to dry. You’ll want to make sure the ink doesn’t smudge and you really don’t want to get any of that ink on your hands and then on your fabrics.

Please note: For copyright reasons the numbers have been removed from the template pieces in these diagrams. Your pieces will have the piecing order numbers printed on them.

Fabric Measurements

Now for the fun part, adding fabric! To help you out I’ve worked out the sizes you’ll need to cut each fabric piece to cover the pattern sections. Please note, given the nature of paper piecing section shapes and the limits on what shapes can be cut with a ruler these shapes produce fabric wastage. You may be better served using fabric scraps that fit, however for those of you new to the process sacrificing some fabric until you get the hang of it is not a big deal. Cut the following fabric pieces:

Fabric 1 (Yellow)

Pattern Pieces: C1, C3, D1, D3 = 6″ x 6″

Pattern Pieces: A2, B2 = 2″ x 2″

Fabric 2 (Red)

Pattern Pieces: A3, D2, B3, C2 = 3″ x 5″

Pattern Pieces: A1, B1 = 2″ x 2″

Please be aware that there is a numbering error on the foundation paper piecing patterns. C2 and D2 are labelled as C3 and D3 respectively. Please refer to your block diagram that is printed at the top of the pattern page 1.

Tip: If you’re like me and get easily confused looking at the pattern pieces you may find value in using colouring pencils to mark the corresponding fabric colour on both the pattern pieces and the block diagram found at the top of the foundation paper pattern. Again, make sure that whatever you use to add colour to your templates doesn’t bleed on to your hands or fabric.

How To Foundation Paper Piece

In the interest of saving space and making the tutorials as easy as possible I will not be showing you how to foundation paper piece with this tutorial as it’s been covered previously. Instead, here are some links to foundation paper piecing tutorials that you can use to get acquainted with the technique if you’re unsure of how to do it.

• Block #46 Jewel Foundation Paper Piecing Tutorial.
• Block #2 Aimee Freezer Paper Foundation Paper Piecing Tutorial.
• Block #90 Sara Foundation Paper Piecing Tutorial.
• Rachel (of Wooden Spoon Quilts) no ripping foundation paper piecing tutorial.
• Melissa (of Miss Midge) paper piecing for Block #13 Belle tutorial.
• Cat (of Cat + Vee) paper piecing for Block #1 Addie tutorial.
• Andrea of Ellis & Higgs paper piecing for Block #2 Aimee.

Making the Sections

Using the Foundation Paper Piecing technique make all the sections of the block. If you are feeling confident you can batch process (which is a similar way of saying ‘chain piece‘ however as you have to remove each piece from the machine before you can start the next one it’s not technically chain piecing) each addition of fabric to a section.

Tip: If, like me, you want to fussy cut the pointy bits (technical term) you can do as I did and piece the sections in the following order: Lay you fabric on the middle section (D2 or C2) (wrong side of fabric to wrong side of pattern) – you can use fabric glue (just a smidge) to stick the fabric to the pattern while you put it altogether. Then do either side of the middle section. I went C1 then C3 or D1 then D3. Make sense?

2. Once you’ve made and trimmed your section lay them out in the block formation. Diagram 1 shows the layout from the front and Diagram 1a shows the layout from the back.

Remember:  There is a numbering error on the foundation paper piecing patterns. C2 and D2 are labelled as C3 and D3 respectively. Please refer to your block diagram that is printed at the top of the pattern page 1.

Joining the Sections

Joining the sections is the same as any other patchwork – right sides together, 1/4″ seam and you stitch all the way from one edge of the section to the other. In this method of foundation paper piecing you will stitch on the dark black seam line.

Tip: When joining sections I normally press my seams open, however with this block I pressed to one side. Before pressing I tear off the paper that is the seam allowance. This is purely personal preference and you can press open if that’s your chosen method. You will press all seams as you join the the sections.

3. Join section A to B as per diagram 2. Diagram 2a shows the back of the pieces.4. It’s now time to join the side panels. This is the trickiest part of the whole block as it’s slight y-seams. This is how I approached it… I used the floating pin technique (you can see more about this in the Block #46 Jewel Foundation Paper Piecing Tutorial) to line up the first of the corners (Diagram 3). I stitch using the stitch line on the side panel, not the stitch line from joining section A to B. Let’s think of the stitch line in three sections; the two long sides and the short middle. I line up the first long side and stitch to the start of the short middle.

Tip: Change your stitch length to 3.5 and stitch as a basting stitch until you have it lined up as good as you can.

Leaving the needle in the down position (Diagram 3a) it’s time to finesse the pieces into line. You want to move and align the middle section to stitch. You can tear the seam allowance of the paper pattern if you need some wiggle room. Once you’ve got it lined up stitch to the beginning of the last section. Here’s a quick clip to help you see what I mean by moving your pieces.

At this point I remove the pieces and line them up out from under the needle. Once you’ve got it lined up pop it back under and stitch the remaining stitch line.

Tip: I used Clover Wonder Clips to help keep my pieces in place for this step.

Join Section C to A+B. 5. Join Section D to A+B. Rock it out, you’ve just made Priscilla.

Tip: I removed all papers from my block. You can either leave them in or take them out now. Either way, before you quilt the quilt top you’ll need to have removed the papers.

 

Book Details

 The Farmer’s Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt: Inspiring Letters from Farm Women of the Great Depression and 99 Quilt Blocks That Honor Them by Laurie Aaron Hird – available from: Amazon | Pink Door Fabrics | Fat Quarter Shop | The Quilting Company | Interweave (Affiliate Links).

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a very small commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link, in fact in some cases I can offer you a better price via an affiliate link. I will not recommend something that I do not use myself. These commissions help me keep being able to provide you with great content for free. Thank you, in advance for your support!