Foundation Paper Piecing Series 4 - June

Published August 2026

Learn how to foundation paper piece the adorable June strawberry block in this step-by-step tutorial with Jen at Shabby Fabrics! Discover essential tips for precise FPP, from fabric placement using a light pad to the "Trim, Sew, Press" method. This video is perfect for quilters looking to master intricate designs with precision and confidence.

In this video, you'll learn:

• What a complete foundation paper piecing kit actually needs.
• Which side of the paper the fabric goes on, and why.
• How to work out which piece to fold to next.
• How to audition a piece before you sew, and why it matters most on acute angles.
• How to trim, join, and border your sections with the papers still on.

Check the links for everything you need.

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Introduction

June means the first berries of the year, so this month brings a ripe red strawberry.

Look at the stickers in your kit and you'll see A, B, C, and D, which tells you straight away that this strawberry is built from four sections. It works just like any quilt block: make a portion, make another, make another, and sew them all together. A first cousin to patchwork, with a technique of its own.

This tutorial works through section D, which has some genuinely acute angles worth slowing down for, and covers a fresh batch of questions from a recent quilt retreat.

This is one of the least expensive facets of quilting to get into. Machine embroidery needs a capable machine costing many thousands, plus hoops and software. Foundation paper piecing needs a ruler, a needle, a glue pen, a light source, and a pair of tweezers. That's genuinely the list.

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What You'll Need

From your kit

• Full color pattern with foundation papers for sections A through D
• Numbered stickers
• Fabrics for the block, borders, backing, and binding

From your sewing room

• Add-A-Quarter Plus ruler, in the two pack. This project uses both the 6" and the 12", because some of the angles run longer than six inches.
• Schmetz Microtex sharp size 70 needles
• Sewline glue pen, which comes with a refill
• Light pad. Jen is using a Daylight model, and the Wafer 2 is a slightly larger option.
• Gypsy Quilter tweezers, for the nooks and crannies when the paper comes off
• Creative Grids ruler for trimming your sections
• Patchwork pins
• Iron, or a Clover Roll & Press
• Gypsy Quilter presser bar and clapper combination
• Seam ripper, kept nearby out of realism rather than optimism
• Callie Del fusible fleece and 505 spray
• Sulky thread set

Make sure it's the Add-A-Quarter Plus. The older version has an abrupt edge on all sides rather than one tapered edge, which makes folding the paper back genuinely difficult. If there's one in your sewing room without the taper, the Plus is worth the upgrade.

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Getting Started

With your fabrics cut and stickered, and each section stacked in numerical order, roughly cut your foundation papers apart. Don't cut on the outermost line yet. That's for the trimming stage later.

The first piece of every section

The first piece of each section gets glued to the paper, since that's the only way to attach it.

Back to back, every time. The back of the fabric goes to the back of the paper, so the alphanumeric side stays facing you. Some makers try to place that first shape on the front, which is the one thing to get straight before you start.

1. Hold the fabric against the back of the paper and turn on your light pad.
2. Confirm the shape is completely covered, plus .25" all the way around.
3. Put a stripe of glue on the back of that shape and press down.

You won't need the glue again until you start another section.

What if a section is only one piece?

A common question, and the answer is simple. Section C on this block is a single piece.

Glue the fabric to the back exactly as you would any first piece, then take it to your cutting mat and cut on the outermost line. That section is finished. There's no sewing involved.

On a larger single piece, use two or three dabs of glue rather than one so nothing shifts.

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The Trim, Sew, Press Rhythm

Everything else is Trim, Sew, Press, repeated.

Trim

1. Find the line between the piece you're on and the next one. D1 and D2 are neighbors, so that's the line.
2. Lay the tapered edge just to the left of it and fold the paper succinctly right over the line.
3. Check the fold. If it drifted, do it again.
4. Turn the ruler around so the lip locks into the fold, and trim.

Folding across other sections of the paper is fine. Nothing about that hurts anything.

Tear the paper a little if you need to. Because you start sewing a stitch or two before each line, the paper sometimes has to give a bit to fold back cleanly. The paper isn't staying, so don't be precious about it.

Audition every piece

Place the next piece right sides together, then flip it over as though the seam were already sewn and check against your light pad.

On this block, three separate pieces went in the opposite way to instinct. An acute angle will fool you. A shape that looks like it should run one direction turns out to need the other, and a long piece often needs sliding much further than expected. There's no shame in a second or third attempt at positioning. Every one of those is faster than unpicking.

Sew

Always sew from the side with the writing on it. It feels like you should sew from the fabric side, but from there you have no idea where the line is. Flip to the printed side, pin somewhere out of the way, and stitch where you can see.

1. Shorten your stitch length to 1.5, down from the usual 2.5.
2. Fit your Schmetz size 70 needle.
3. Start a few stitches before the line, sew directly on it, and stop just after.

Crossing your tracks at both ends is what locks the stitches in, so nothing comes apart later when the paper is removed. Hand cranking the first couple of stitches helps you land exactly where you want to start, and engaging needle down makes the whole thing steadier.

Press

An iron or a Clover Roll & Press, whichever suits your setup. The Roll & Press is a good answer if there are little ones about and you'd rather not have a hot iron within reach, and it's popular at retreats where several makers share one iron.

One of our makers keeps a Roll & Press at her station by choice, even with an iron a few steps away and nobody waiting for it.

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Working Out Which Piece Comes Next

Another question that comes up often. D1, D2, and D3 are straightforward because they sit in a row. Then D4 has lines on more than one side, and it's less obvious where to fold.

Fold to the lowest numbered neighbor. D4 touches several pieces, and the one to work from is the lowest number among them. Having already done D1, D2, and D3, that's D1. The rule holds anywhere in the section.

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Trimming Your Sections

When every piece is on, the section looks wild. Trimming it is one of the most satisfying parts of the whole process.

Lay a Creative Grids ruler so its dashed line sits exactly on the printed line. When it does, you know you're cutting precisely where you should be.

Engineered corners

Respect the little jogs. Those subtle notches along the edge aren't printing errors and they aren't yours to tidy up. They're deliberate, and they're what lets one section click into the next like a puzzle piece.

Keep a trash can nearby. The trimmings add up fast.

Leave the papers on when the sections are done. The distance from your trimmed edge to the solid line is exactly .25", so your seam allowance is already marked. The papers also carry the information about which side joins which section.

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Joining the Sections

Your pattern gives the sequence: section A to B, then the A-B unit to C, then D.

1. Place two sections right sides together and watch them click into place.
2. Stack them exactly, one perfectly on top of the other.
3. Pin from the inside, never out in the seam allowance where you'd have to stop and pull pins.
4. Pin the beginning and the end first, then everything in between.
5. Keep the 1.5 stitch length and sew right off the edge, following the printed line.

Never sew over a pin. If it hasn't broken a needle for you yet, it's a matter of time. A struck pin can throw your machine out of time or leave the tip of a needle down inside it. Pinning on the inside means you never have to.

Keep the short stitch length for as long as paper is involved. The simple version: if there's paper in the seam and you know you'll be removing it, stay at 1.5.

Pressing the joins

The arrows in your pattern tell you which way each seam goes. Some press open to distribute bulk, and some press toward a particular section.

For a seam that resists opening:

1. Warm it thoroughly with the iron on its linen setting to make it pliable.
2. Arch it over a presser bar and get the iron right in to open it.
3. Remove the paper from the seam allowance only. Tweezers reach where fingers won't.
4. Press again, then set the clapper down to hold it flat.

Taking the paper out of the seam allowance is a later addition to our process. We didn't start doing it until around Series 2 or 3. It reduces the bulk, the block lies noticeably flatter, and it's much easier to do now than after several sections are joined.

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Borders, Then Paper Removal

The papers stay on for the borders. Cut your border strips exactly to the size in the pattern, and because the block was cut so precisely, they'll fit.

Pin the border on and sew from the paper side, where the printed .25" line tells you exactly where to be. Press to the outside, then do the top and bottom.

Now the papers come off.

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Layering, Quilting, and Finishing

1. Fuse Callie Del fusible fleece to the back. It's plush, thick, and handles beautifully under an iron.
2. Add your backing, using 505 spray to build the quilt sandwich.
3. Quilt with the thread set, stitching on the shapes rather than in the ditch for that embossed look.
4. Trim the excess fleece and backing.
5. Bind, and add a hanging sleeve if you'd like to display it.

Patchwork spends most of its life in white, gray, and black thread, so getting to show off beautiful Sulky threads is a real pleasure.

Want the hanging sleeve walkthrough? It's covered in the earlier videos in this series.

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Even after forty years of sewing, three placements in this one section went the opposite way to instinct. That's exactly what the light source is for. A repeatable, learnable process that isn't intuitive at all, and is genuinely fun once the rhythm arrives!