Christmas Sew-a-Long: EPP Penguin
The Little Christmas Sew-a-Long features weekly holiday tutorials from some of my favorite quilty designers! This week we have Laurel from Porcupinestew_Threads showing us how to make an EPP (her specialty) penguin! If you’re new to EPP, check out the introductory blog tutorial she wrote here.
Hi there!
Laurel here from Porcupinestew_Threads here. Happy Holidays! Today we are going to be getting our hand sewing on!
EPP stands for English Paper Piecing, and it means sewing together pieces of fabric that are stabilized by paper. The paper acts as a template for your fabric pieces. It is great for making precise blocks!
To start our penguin English paper piecing head on over here to get your FREE penguin download. Print at 100% and if possible on cardstock. We will be cutting these pieces out with scissors.
I’ll be making mine into a pillow. We live in a pretty tiny space so this is the perfect low key holiday decoration.
Lets get our tools together!
No large amounts of fabric are needed - small scraps work perfectly fine! Go ahead and search through that scrap bin!
We will also need needle, thread and lightweight fusible interfacing. Optional items are thread gloss, glue and spray baste.
Next we are going to cut out the template pieces. Place the paper template onto the wrong side of the fabric with printed side down, trimming the fabric down to 1/4 seam allowance around the paper template.
To baste your pieces use your preferred method; washable glue stick or thread. I prefer glue and and will be using that method today.
I find that glue basting goes fastest out of all the other methods, even if it is a bit sticky.
When using glue only use enough glue to hold the fabric in place, try to remain in that 1/4 seam allowance.
Next we are going to stitch our pieces together using whip stitch or the flat back stitch. Don't worry! You got this! I’ll be using the flat back stitch.
Flat back is just stitching through the back of the fabric. This means your stitches should not be visible to the front.
To help with being overwhelmed with so many pieces, work at a few pieces at a time. I did the arms and head separate and then worked the body of the penguin up to the head.
While stitching the penguin together is a great time to watch a favorite holiday movie! I love Elf and the most recent Grinch is super cute! I usually stick with audio books or podcasts.
When all pieces are sewn together remove the papers. If you used glue to baste your papers and find it tricky getting the paper out, try using a warm iron to loosen the glue. Take care not to pull too hard or you may pull out your stitches.
To finish I appliquéd my penguin by sewing around all of the edges with a zig zag stitch to the front piece of my pillow cover. I used an invisible thread and shortened the stitch length. You can always use yours for a zipper pouch or attach it to the back of a jean jacket!
Tag your makes on instagram with #PenguinEPP and #littlechristmassewalong to be entered in a drawing to win a fun prize at the end of the sew a long! To view other sew a long tutorials, click here.
Thanks for stopping by and have a great holiday season!
