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Whew. What a week. Let that one get past me, but here we are now, onto week 3 of the Bat EPP along! 

Thanks for sticking with me! 

This week we're talking all about stitching this bad boy together. It seems a bit intimidating but once you get the placement of where to hold your hands down it goes by pretty fast. 

Starting up where we left off last week, with all of our pieces basted and ready to sew together. 

With our thread of choice cut a strip about as long as your hand to elbow. Lots of quilters will cut more than that but I feel like any more and the thread starts getting in the way of itself. Especially with these pieces being thin and close together. Tie a knot at the end and thread your needle. 

A few things before we start, it will feel like it starts off messy and not very tight but thats is because our pieces are small and thin but after a few stitches it will be easier to see where you are going. Flat back is my go to stitch and thats what I will be showing today. With most of these pieces you can also use the whip stitch but your stitches might show more on the front. If your seam allowance is in the way, instead of sewing through it move it out of the way for now. This will make removing your papers easier in those tight spots. 

To start we're going to be working in groups of three. I know the picture below is a step beyond that but that is when I remembered to take the photo. I like to work from right to left with my needle, so with two pieces butt up next to each other put your needle through just a few threads on the right piece, sliding it through just a few threads on the left side and pull tight. But not so tight that your knotted side comes flying through and you have to do that first stitch again. Just saying from experience, haha.

I can hold my pieces like I am holding a deck of cards with my thumb covering both pieces. If this still feels wrong, using larger magnets to hold your pieces together can be very helpful. Keep working from right to left with about 18-20 stitches per inch. You can see in the picture below that I have moved the seam allowances out of the way to get those stitches in. They easily go back to their place with a quick good press from the iron. 

The front side of the same section. Ive pressed my seams back into place and my stitches are blending in.

 I've worked all of my wing pieces together in groups of three and since the bat is symmetrical I've worked those in separate sides and will join them together when I have the two halves sewn up.   

And again, keep joining those sections together. Giving your bat pieces a good press in between each section will help relax the thread and get your pieces to lay flatter. I also like using a quilters clapper, like this amazing one from Jenna over on Instagram. 

Alright we made it! Two halves, and one head! Join the two halves together and then that adorable little head and bam! You have yourself a complete bat! Congratulations! Give that baby a great press and take some amazing Instagram photos! You should be proud! 

Thanks for joining me! 

Next week we have a bit of a catch up week, and Ill check back in with another post! 

Happy Stitching

Welcome friends! 

Week 2 is all about paper weight &basting those pieces, what thread and glue to use and does it all matter! I think you'll quickly find out everything here is up to personal preface! 

I know last week I jumped the gun and talked a bit about paper weights, but let's get a bit deeper. 

The heavier in weight the paper is the thicker it is going to be. Here I've glue basted A) Regular printer paper, B) 90 lb. paper and C) 120 lb paper to see if the regular paper was too thin or if the 120 wt paper was to thick. By feel alone the regular printer paper will work perfectly fine! I was impressed at how sturdy it felt! The 120 lb paper was stiff but still bendy. I did get my printer to print on the 120 lb paper but I am thinking that not all printers will be able to handle such thick paper.   

For my bats I went with the 90 lb paper. 

I love fussy cutting my fabric and always try to aim to get the cutest picture in the piece. To fussy cut your fabric, lightly wrap the fabric around the paper to see how the fabric would line line up. You can also use a light board or a brightly lit window.

I have tried almost all of the major thread brands and I tend to prefer Aurifil thread. It has less shedding and tends to break less. I know at times I can get a bit aggressive with my pulling and I like a thread that can hold up. 

Other brands that I have tried are Mettler and Gutermann. It is really personal preface and if you can only find thread at the bottom of you sewing box I say go for it! The important part here is that the color of the thread matches or is closely matching the fabric you've pulled for you bats. 

A lot of brands have "invisible" thread. It feels like thin fishing line. I find the use of it very impressive but for me it is too invisible. 

Glue or thread basting your paper pieces. 

I've done both over the years. When I first started I only thread basted and I am pretty sure that was all that was talked about on the internet back in the day. Both my glue and thread basting has held up for years (pictured above pieces are 6 years old), so again this is all up to personal preface. 

I am going to start with thread basting in 6 easy steps. I picked the most complicated piece on the bat to show this off, so the other pieces will have less steps and will be quicker. 

  

   

  

When I glue my pieces I try to keep the glue all nice and neat and just on the fabric. But I am going to be honest here, there are plenty of times I am very heavy handed with the glue. If the piece is small enough, I am adding glue to the entire piece of fabric to keep that paper in there until I am all set. If you are heavy on the glue let it dry a bit before sewing your pieces together or it will be gummy and slide around from all the excess glue. 

I find glue basting to be much quicker and easier on the hands. 

And there you go, all set for next week. 

I will be going live on Instagram Saturday, October 9th at 12pm PST if you have any questions or need any extra help! See you there! 

Week 1 of Bat EPP Along and it is all about fabrics and tools! 

we're just gathering up our tools and getting prepared! Always preparing! 

TOOLS 

Grab pattern here!

First let's talk about that paper weight. I use a Canon Pixma Pro printer to print all of my patterns and I use 90-110 card stock weight. I like the thicker yet still pliable paper. You can use the lower weight papers those work just as well, those will be a bit more bendy and flexible. Cereal boxes and snack boxes also work for EPP, there are lots of options! It's just finding one that works for you and your project. 

Tools to sew - 

Needle- I like to use milliners needles size 10-11. 

Thread- If you are worried about your stitches showing the important thing here is to use a thread color that matches the fabric. I use Auriful 40 or 50 wt thread. 

Scissors 

Fabric- Go ahead, reach for that scrap bin! This project is perfect for it! 

 Optional tools- 

Thread wax or Balm 

Glue 

FABRIC AND COLORS 

This pattern is perfect for scraps! Check that scrap bin before cutting into the bigger cuts of fabric! 

If you're feeling stuck on which direction to head in, I like to check out Pinterest! Search for color combos or color inspiration and find a color combinations that inspire you! If you still feel stuck, use color combos you know are good and you enjoy! My go to colors are gold and pink! 

Keep it simple and grab 4-5 different fabrics, keeping two of them in some contrasting colors, so it all doesn't blend together. Unless thats what you're going for. ;) 

Because the paper pieces are smaller small prints work really well for this pattern! 

Prints that show movement are always fun to use too, like those Rae Ritchie prints below. Fussy cutting a piece is always a fun idea, I've been known to add a strawberry print on a few of my epps!   

Let me know how your fabric pull went this week! Tag your pull with #BatEPPAlong to share! 

Hey y'all! I am super excited for this Bat &BOO! English paper pieced along! 

Let's get some of the details out of the way! 

5 week of EPP fun! 

- Week 1 ( Sept 27th- Oct 3rd)  is all about pulling fabric and talking colors! 

- Week 2 ( Oct 4th - Oct 10th) we're going to talk about paper weight, basting our pieces. What thread and glue and does it all matter! 

- Week 3 ( Oct 11th- 17th) we're gonna stitch these babies together! we'll find out which stitch works best and other helpful tricks. And keeping all of those tiny pieces straight! 

- Week 4 (Oct 18th- 24th) is all about putting all the pieces together if you haven't. And any extra support thats needed. Those tiny pieces can be scary but they go quick! 

- Week 5 (Oct 25th- Oct 31st) we will finish playing catch up and at the end of the week Ill announce the grand prize winner! 

Each Monday I will send out a newsletter talking about what we're doing during the week and then Saturday's I will be doing Instagram Live where we can talk about any issues or problems we faced and how we can trouble shoot those issues.

There are no weekly prizes but the grand prize is pretty grand! Ive got prizes lined up from Sarah Ruth at Ruthlessly Handmade, Jamie at Getzmadeco and Jenna from 3k3ysd3signs! 

Super excited to have y'all join me! 

Grab your Bat pattern and BOO! patterns!