Hi friends,
Melinda here again!
We’re continuing on with English Paper Piecing, and this is the part where things really start to get fun. If you’ve already tried basting and stitching your pieces together, now we get to move into something that completely changes how you see your fabric - fussy cutting, or as I like to call it, focus cutting.
I’ve started using the term “focus cutting” a bit more because it just feels more intentional. “Fussy” makes it sound a little… high maintenance. But really, this is about slowing down and choosing exactly what you want to highlight in your fabric.
And once you start doing this, I promise, you will never look at fabric the same way again.
Before this, you might see a print as a whole. But with EPP and focus cutting, you start breaking it down. You notice individual motifs, shapes, repeats… little design moments you didn’t even realize were there before. Suddenly, you’re not just cutting fabric, you’re designing with it!
In this video, I’m working with the Tula Pink Pom Pom fabric, which are such a great example because they’re simple, but they give you a lot to play with. You can go for a full motif (like a whole circle), or just a partial one, and even that small decision can completely change how your final piece looks.
What I love most is the experimentation. You can take the exact same shapes and arrange them a few different ways, and suddenly you’ve got a totally different design. Move a color, flip a piece, swap in a different fabric, and it becomes something new.
There’s no one “right” way to do it, which is part of the fun.
If you’re following along with the video series on our YouTube channel, this builds right on top of what we’ve already done. And if you need a refresher on basting or stitching, I’d definitely recommend going back and watching those first.
But for this part, I really want you to give yourself permission to play.
Try different motifs. Mix colors. Flip things around. See what happens.
Some of my favorite results have come from just moving pieces around on the table and seeing what catches my eye.
If you want to see exactly how I prep my templates, mark my fabric, and get everything lined up, make sure to watch the video. I walk through all of that step by step so you can follow along at your own pace.
But more than anything, I hope this part gets you excited about the creative side of EPP. This is where it starts to feel less like a technique and more like your own personal design process.
I can’t wait to see what you come up with.
Happy stitching,
Melinda