How to Trim English Paper Pieced (EPP) Quilt Blocks
Trimming an English paper pieced (EPP) quilt or quilt block might seem intuitive to some, but with their irregular shapes and potentially uneven seam allowances, it can sometimes feel tricky. In this post, we’re going to share some tips and tricks for making sense of trimming your quilt blocks quickly, easily, and accurately.
- by Lisa Sliva
When should I trim my EPP quilt blocks?
A question that preludes the actual trimming, is when to trim? If you are making a whole quilt top from hexagons, like Spring Whimsy, for example, we recommend that you trim your quilt AFTER quilting as the final step before binding. However, if you are making a quilt that calls for trimming the quilt blocks and then sewing them together by machine like in Red Sky at Night or Willoughby, we recommend trimming the quilt blocks right before quilt top assembly.
Trimming Hexagon Quilts
Hexgons are by far the most iconic EPP shape, and thus make up a large contingent of EPP quilts. So, knowing how to trim the edges of these quilts or quilt blocks is a great tool to have in your EPP toolbox.
1. Once you have sewn your block or quilt top together, press all of the outer seam allowances open and out towards the outside perimeter of the block.
Note! If you are trimming a quilt, quilt the top as desired then proceed to step 2.
2. Next, line up the ¼” line on your quilt ruler with the small knots at the ends of each line of stitching. Trim the excess with your rotary cutter. Repeat around the perimeter of the patchwork.
Trimming Square Quilt Blocks
While EPP doesn’t often feature square quilt blocks as much as machine quilting does, we offer two patterns in our shop that do just that! Red Sky at Night and Willoughby feature quilt blocks made using EPP, but then they are trimmed square and sewn together by machine.
1. To trim square blocks, you’ll want to press all of the outer seam allowances open and out towards the outside perimeter of the block.
2. Next, line up the ¼” line on your quilt ruler with the crease created by the papers.
3. Trim the excess with your rotary cutter. Repeat around the perimeter of the patchwork.
Trimming Uneven or Pointed Edges
Lastly, some quilts or quilt blocks call for using shapes to fill in the edges of a piece of patchwork, but then require trimming to make the edge flat. This occurs in the Hummingbird EPP quilt block from Red Sky at Night, as well as in Boston Ivy, one of our free patterns that you can make using the Lucy’s Terrace paper pieces.
1. To trim these quilt blocks, press all of the outer seam allowances open and out towards the outside perimeter of the block.
2. Next, line up the ¼” line on your quilt ruler with the small knots or outermost points along the perimeter of the block.
3. Trim the excess with your rotary cutter. Repeat around the perimeter of the patchwork.
Wanna see trimming in action? Watch Jodi prepare and trim her Red Sky at Night Quilt blocks, ready for machine piecing the quilt top together.
Trim your quilt blocks with confidence!
We hope that this little tutorial has equipped you to feel more confident trimming your EPP quilts and quilt blocks! If you're new to EPP and you're looking for additional resources for how to get started, check out our EPP for Beginners page below!
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