June's Week 8 - Paper Pieced Camel

Missing the ear and eye.

I hadn't planned on suggesting this block, but after doing the patchy heart I had a bunch of scraps and I thought doing a paper pieced block would help me make use of those bits of fabric.

I  haven't really done paper piecing before - looking at these videos helped me out:

Leah Day - For the beginner
TimbleArt - Adds a few more tips
Crafty Gemini - Adds much more detail


See Notes below...






Notes:

1. Print the pattern the size you would like - I suggest at least two copies!  I printed mine so it was 10 inches - so I had to bring it into an editing program so I could divide it and print on two sheets of paper (so I would get the exact size that I wanted.) Note:  For my 10.5 unfinished block, I should have set it to print to be 9.75 or maybe even 9.5 - when I sew my block to the next block the seam will intersect with the tail, rear leg, and be really near the face.....
2. Notice there are several groups in the pattern (head, neck, body, and legs) - cut the pattern apart at these lines - remember you will need to extend the lines by .25 inch so when you join them together they will fit! Along the outside of the entire block I added additional fabric to be sure to have enough fabric.  (I hope I added enough so when I sew the block to the next block the detail is not lost!)
   
3. There are just two colors to use in this pattern. So that part is easy. I marked the pieces where the camel would be to help me keep track of things though.  I used Kona Cotton solids so I did not have to worry about front and back side of fabric.
4. I goofed when I was making the tail and had to do it twice.  Because I had used the tighter stitches I couldn't pick it out and reuse the fabric, so the second time I basted things, checked to be sure it was correct, then when back and sewed with the tight stitches.  Still there were a couple of places that that I didn't have the fabric placed correctly.  I just added extra fabric where needed (so I have additional seams).
   

Paper piecing isn't as much fun as I thought it would be, but perhaps after doing a couple it will get easier and I'll be able to do more detailed projects.

I hope you'll try out the block!



To take some of the mystery of paper piecing patterns
How to Draw a Paper Pieced Pattern in PhotoShop
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m28FWEd8pNw&feature=related Video 1 of 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qmnfpMvoPQ&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL Video 2 of 2