Mini Paper Pieced Egg

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INSTRUCTIONS:

Photocopy and cut out the rectangle template. (You will cut out the egg shape later on in the sewing process.)

1. Shorten your stitch length to 1.5 - 1.8mm. 

2. Beginning in the centre of the egg (the tiny square), gather two 

pieces of fabric and place them with right sides together. The 

pieces need to be slightly larger than the centre square areas 

 (about 3/4” X 3/4”). Place the pieces on the wrong side of 

the template (the back of the paper). Pin in place. Hint; It can be helpful 

to hold it up into the light for positioning.

3. Flip the template over and sew along the line in between the 

centre squares extending at least 1/8” beyond the line on either end

—this is your seam allowance. Make sure your fabric is at least as large 

as the section next to it that it will be covering. Trim any excess fabric along

the seam to about 1/8”.

4. Turn the template to the fabric side (the wrong side of the paper) and open 

the seams. A wooden seam roller can be helpful for this. This heart has lots of seams 

and using a seam roller saves time from constantly running back and forth from an iron.

5. Place on your next fabric right side down onto the previous pieces. This one will need 

to be slightly bigger as it is covering the next piece in the pattern . Pin in place.

6. Flip the template over and sew along the next line.

7. Trim any excess fabric along the seam to 1/8”.

8. Repeat this process in a log cabin pattern sewing the adjecent pieces. When you have sewn up to the bottom edges, then sew the top two sides.

9. Remove the paper. The tight stitches help with this, but you may also wish to spray it lightly with water, wait a minute, then remove the papers. You may find it helpful to use tweezers. Do not get too picky about small pieces of paper, it is fine to leave some and, even at times I have left them all especially on a tiny project such as this. 

10. Cut out the egg shape along the outer edges.

11. Place your egg wrong sides together onto the backing fabric. Pin it in place. 

12. Sew on the rick rack starting at the bottom point, stitching it on as close to the edge as you can. Now trim off the backing.

13. Cut a bias binding piece 1” X 14” long. Begin sewing it on at the top inner point with a 1/8” seam. Gently guide the binding around the outer curves, be careful not to pull the binding while sewing. 

14. Sew around the heart to the top inner point to meet the binding where you began. Trim binding leaving about 3/8” or less if you can. 

15. Trim off the excess backing fabric. Tuck under the end of the binding. Fold the binding over and under to the back. You may need to use quilt clips or pins to hold it 

down while you stitch it down.