When I saw quilts that were paper pieced as a new quilter, I was so intimidated! The intricate looking blocks with all of those Y-corners! But now I love English paper piecing! I’ve found that hexagon paper piecing is my favorite by far.
English paper piecing is simply wrapping a piece of fabric around a paper shape, usually hexagons, but we have projects that use other shapes as well. With EPP, you hand sew the shapes together to create a more complex shape and design.
On this page you will find free English paper piecing patterns that are so fun and fabulous! Although I love Grandmother’s Garden which uses hexagon paper piecing, these patterns go way beyond the classics with many modern patterns, designs, and English paper piecing templates.
Please take a look at the link to Free English Paper Piecing Templates. You will find many templates to print, cut and sew.
Just take a look at our Heart project. For this project you will use jewel paper pieces to create the hearts in this English paper piecing pattern. It isn’t any more difficult than sewing hexagons and is perfect for beginners.
The Star of Bethlehem project uses different shapes, such as diamond, square, triangle, and house shapes to create a beautiful star design. It could be used as a wall hanging or as one of many blocks for a full quilt since it is 12” square when finished.
As you scroll through the English paper piecing patterns for free, you are definitely going to find the right project for you. We have free patterns for beginners, along with many patterns that you will enjoy if you have a lot of English paper piecing experience!
If constructing a whole quilt with English paper piecing is overwhelming, the simple projects like our Bunny Rabbit Pattern and DIY Hexie Hand Towel are great places to begin.
The bunny rabbit English paper piecing pattern, which is a nice small and easy project and is great for beginners, uses only a few hexies to make the bunny, which is then appliqued onto a tea towel, shirt, tote bag, etc.
If you want a refresher on applique, please check out our applique and English paper piecing topic page.
The simple DIY hexie hand towel hexagon paper piecing pattern is a great scrap busting project and shows you a fun and easy way to give hexagon paper piecing a try.
You will only need five hexies, and after they are hand joined, the finished piece is sewn by machine onto the hand towel. Sew easy!
If you have been Hexagon paper piecing and just love it, you are going to find the English Paper Piecing Travel Kit a must have! The travel kit, which holds fat quarters, spools of thread and has a pocket for organizing your stitched hexies, is made out of hexagon paper piecing! I think it’s an amazing project and would be so useful!
One project here that is very unique is the Fat Quarter Hexagon Clock! Only one fat quarter is needed to make the hexagons for the clock, which are then glued together for the clock face. You simply add the clock mechanism to finish it off!
Scroll down this page to find free English paper piecing patterns for things like placemats, table runners, hot pads, pincushions, and a whole lot more!
Don’t make the mistake of being intimidated as I was; English paper piecing is so enjoyable, easy, relaxing and portable since it is all done by hand. You may find that English paper piecing is addictive once you get started!