How to draw FPP quilt blocks

Choose a photo and learn how to draw FPP quilt blocks. I watched the EQ online course and created my first block!

Foundation paper piecing is like meditation to me. The repetitive steps, especially when making many of the same block, put me in a Zen state. Some of us are intimidated; yet, after the first project, you will be comfortable with it. Take a look at this video to see how I paper-piece blocks. You can also check out how I pieced the Sun Block.

Nowadays, the only ‘tool’ I use is an old credit card to help me fold back the line of the section I will sew next. FPP is a great technique for blocks that would otherwise be very tricky to stitch. You do not need to be precise all the time when you sew blocks, but certain blocks require precision, or mismatched points will ruin the quilt design.

I have made many quilts with Foundation Paper Piecing. However, I had never drawn my own FPP block. Yes, I have modified FPP blocks in EQ8, printed the templates, and stitched them. Or, I have used templates from books (Carol Doak’s is my favorite – check out this border I made with one of its templates). Then, I got great news in my inbox!

The Electric Quilt Company recently launched an online course to teach quilters how to draw FPP quilt blocks. I jumped at the opportunity to review it – you know I work with EQ8 every day and love to learn new ways to use it, so this would add more fun to this software that has been an extension of my brain for more than a decade.

Here’s what I did: I logged into my Electric Quilt Company account, found the course in the EQ At Home page, and watched it. I went through it once and downloaded the working file. Last Friday, I knew I would have the afternoon free to ‘play’, so I loaded the course on my tablet as Jenny suggested at the beginning of the course, then launched EQ8 on my computer, and watched the videos while I practiced.

The video segments range in length from 5 to 15 minutes, so there is no chance of getting tired or bored. Whether you are a novice or veteran EQ8 user, you will find the videos easy to follow as Jenny shows us the features that apply to FPP, which tools we will use in the block and image worktables, when to use them, and when to toggle them off.

Then, Jenny walks us through drawing an easy FPP block, moving on to a block with curves, and finally, a landscape. I liked the pace and the practice. I also liked that Jenny shows what could go wrong and how to fix the mistakes. The entire course is user-friendly, and you do not need to take it all at once.

After I went through the course, I looked for a photo I could turn into a block. I considered a vase and the turtle above. I opted for the turtle, although I knew I should begin with something simpler. Oh, well. I had this turtle on my watercolor table and had already started painting it. It called me and said, “How would I look translated into fabric?”

After a couple of hours drawing, grouping, and numbering the sections a few times, I thought I had nailed it and printed the templates. As I cut out the major sections, I realized I had to go back to the drawing board. The sections needed to be separated by straight lines!

At the end of the afternoon, I printed and cut the templates above. I pieced the top and bottom sections, then decided to scrap the whole thing and put it away until Saturday morning.

Saturday morning, I revisited 3 of the video segments to refresh my memory. Then, I worked on the block until I was happy with it, and it didn’t take long at all! These are the templates I settled on. As I added to the sections, I could use a variety of fabrics, the turtle was more detailed (although the head could have been rounder), and the pieces would be easy to join once the fabrics were stitched on.

Since I had other things to tackle on Saturday, I left the block piecing for Sunday.

On Sunday morning, I was ready to sew. To add interest, I planned to use lots of prints and textures to give the impression of marine life, while following the placement of dark and light fabrics in the image above.

It was the first time I used scraps, instead of pre-measuring and cutting the fabric pieces for each section. I had to be extra careful to ensure the scraps were large enough, and a couple of times I had to rip the stitches. As the stitch length is set to 1.4, removing them is a bit tricky. Luckily for me, the copying paper the templates were printed on was thick, and nothing got ripped.

While I was piecing the sections, I realized I should change the numbering sequence in a couple of spots, but I kept sewing, changing the order without printing another template and starting over. It will be easy to do it in EQ later.

I was so excited about my progress! Don’t get me wrong – I still thought it was crazy to choose a complicated image as my first try, but I was determined to work with this turtle. The finished block measures 12″ x 8″.

Ta-da! One straight border was all I needed to make the block pop. I auditioned fabrics for another border, but they would have taken the focus away from the turtle.

The free-motion quilting allowed me to add details to the turtle shell, head, tail, and leg. I worked with Aurifil 28 wt on the turtle, and a variegated silk thread on the water. The eye was added with a fabric marker.

This is it! I am so glad I took this course! I won’t stop at the turtle – I am already lining up other photographs for my next blocks.

If you ever wanted to learn how to draw FPP quilt blocks, I highly recommend you check out EQ8 and the Drawing Foundation Paper Pieced Blocks course.

I am wrapping up! Tomorrow and Wednesday, I will be teaching at the Etowah Valley Quilt Guild in Cartersville, GA. I hope you will be having just as much fun this week as I will.