Foundation Paper Piecing 101: A Quilting Class For Beginners

I love teaching. Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be a teacher. I assumed that would be a primary school teacher, and even studied it at uni, completing both my bachelor and also a graduate certificate.  Except then I got married, we started our family, and moved to Japan for a few years. Now that we’re back in Australia and my kids are almost finished primary school themselves, it turns out I’m not a classroom teacher of little kids but am instead using my teaching powers for good in the quilting industry!

And I love it.

Teaching was what drew me into making Blossom Heart Quilts a business and not “just” a blog. I started with writing tutorials, and then patterns. I started writing for Make Modern with Maths & Methods and now Tips + Techniques. Upon our return to Australia, I started teaching at local quilt shops. And then I wrote my book, Mini Masterpieces. All still while blogging and writing and teaching that way too.

This passion for teaching and my deep desire to equip and inspire other quilters underpins everything that I do here. It is the reason Blossom Heart Quilts exists, and keeps existing, ha!

Which is why I am so excited to share about Foundation Paper Piecing 101 – an introduction to foundation paper piecing.

Foundation Paper Piecing 101 is a class I had planned to run in person a few times last year, now it’s a digital on-demand class that anyone can take from anywhere in the world! FPP101 is the perfect course for quilters wanting to learn how to foundation paper piece. Especially if you want to learn from the comfort of your own home in your own sewing space!

There are 3 modules that walk you through every single step of foundation paper piecing from safely downloading and saving patterns, to printing accurately, preparing the templates, and then the actual sewing! Along the way, there are tasks to do that help you to successfully foundation paper piece your very first quilt block.

And videos! Lots of short videos to help you through each step of the way, as if I was right there with you demonstrating in person. Except that you can stop and rewind and re-watch whatever you need whenever you want! Each video has closed captions too, so if my Aussie accent is tricky to understand or you need the added support to access the content, then I’ve got you covered.

And then there’s a whole section of bonuses! Specialty foundation paper piecing tool demos, a set of templates to use for a common quilt block units, a resource list of ways to use foundation paper pieced blocks, and a full mini quilt pattern for the Starburst mini quilt with the option to turn it into a cushion or a mini quilt like I did to hang on my sewing room wall.

So there’s videos, patterns, demos and more… And all of that for just US$27!

Yes, I am in Australia and this is in USD – if I have it set in USD, that allows me to accept also PayPal payments, and not just credit card, as that’s how Teachable works, and I know having PayPal is an important option to have for accessibility.

How does FPP101 work?

Foundation Paper Piecing 101 is hosted on the same platform, Teachable, as Women of Advent. Once you enrol in FPP101, you will receive a confirmation email and you’ll be able to log in and get straight into your foundation paper piecing! Everything is contained within that login – all the modules, videos, and downloads. I recommend that you bookmark the home page to your browser so that you can easily reference it later.

You can also access the course via the Teachable app (Apple only) if you prefer to use your phone or iPad.

The other important thing to note is that it’s on-demand. This means that you work through it at your own pace, in your own time, and you can rewatch it as many times as you like. Which therefore means it doesn’t matter where you live, or what timezone you are in – you can watch this at any time of day, even in your PJs with a glass of something in your sewing room! 😉

What supplies do you need?

Other than your usual quilting tools (sewing machine, ruler, rotary cutter, thread, etc), all you need to get started is:

• Coloured pens or pencils or markers
• A fabric glue pen, or a small washable/”school” glue stick
• Access to a printer + regular copy paper (Letter or A4 – whichever is usual for you)
• Paper scissors (don’t use your fabric scissors for cutting out paper!)

Are there other fancy tools you can get for foundation paper piecing? Of course! But you don’t NEED any of them to get started. And I go over all of this inside FPP101 so you can make those decisions for yourself.

Got any more questions? Ask away in the comments and I’ll help you out!