I have made my own paper piece pattern for simple things like a square in a square and a stem for a tulip nothing fancy or hard. I wouldn't know how to begin that.

Vicky~

I made a star one. It was harder than I expected to get the angles symmetrical. It seems I couldn't just make the image and flip it. I had to keep messing with it -- but maybe I didn't go about it the right way. Once I did get it I was pleased that I made the pattern myself.

In addition to avoiding the Y seams, you want to do that smaller pieces to each other and then attach those to the bigger. Or maybe that is the same as avoiding the Y seam.

Thanks Vicky and Laurainsdca. I'll give it a shot and see what happens!

Lola,

What are you planning to design it in? I have EQ but I actually made mine in MS word using the drawing toolbar. I find that faster and easier to draw with than my EQ program -- but then you can't do the same things with experimenting with color with it. But if you plan to use Word and have questions, let me know.

This is the block I made from my PP pattern. I think I've posted this pic before sorry if it's a reapeat. It was a birthday block for ScootersGirl -- who wanted black and white:
{{!gwi}}

I am also pretty new to PP, so I'm afraid I can't answer that, but I do feel that it will make life a lot easier once I stop chopping off the newly-added pieces when I think I'm just trimming seams.

Wow, Laura, that's so beautifully done that I thought it was the drawing itself. It's being in black and white reinforced the impression.

Jan, I think the black and white really helped. I made the same block for someone in red and yellow and I hated the results so much I ended up making a replacement. It lacked the 3-D" effect which was my goal with the pattern, plus despite being PP I didn't sew it right and the points were too close to the edge and it would not lie flat... But the black and white one I was rather pleased with, if I may say so myself...

I'm sure there are already a lot of patterns very similar to that one out there, but it does feel kind of special to think you "designed the block yourself!"

Laura,

IÂm trying to design a dump-truck. IÂm not using any software. I found a coloring book picture of one online and I printed, and enlarged it to the size that I want with some modification. I could appliqué it, but I thought it would be interesting to PP it. (I will probably appliqué the round wheels, since that will be much easier than PPing them.) If I run into problems, IÂll try using MS Word. Good idea.

Your star is beautiful!

Lola,

Here's a free paper piecing pattern for an ambulance. I think it wouldn't be too hard to adapt it to a dump truck.

Jeener

Here is a link that might be useful: Ambulance

OMG I looked at the ambulance pattern and my jaw dropped. Boy that looks complicated!
I will go back to my applique corner and be quiet now.
BlueBars

Jenner,

Thanks for that ambulance! I'm still tempted to try to design my own, but I'm definitely going to use the ambulance as a general guide. Also, if I get stuck, I'll modify the ambulance. Great idea!

BlueBars,

If you are at all interested in PPing, IÂd encourage you to try it, just start slow and simple. I learned from Carole DoakÂs book Simply Sensational 9-Patch Stars. In my opinion, her instruction is easy to follow. I like PPing because my blocks come out the exact size that they were intended to be with perfect points every time.

Thanks, I've tried it with a simple block. A friend taught me how to do a house block with paper piecing, over the phone no less. I made 9. But each little simple house took me about 10 hours to finish. No big problems, but I find it very challenging to think in reverse shapes, unless they are big squares or rectangles.
You'all go have fun with it. I'll stay in my little applique corner LOL.
I will enjoy seeing a picture of the PP dump truck, and I'm curious to know how long it takes.
BlueBars

OK, I'm going to give this another try with a relatively simple design. If the design is directional, such as with some letters of the alphabet, do I have to reverse the design first, so they finish up facing the correct direction?
Hey, how did the dump truck turn out?
BlueBars

I've had good luck in paper piecing trees. I've made lot's of tree coster & trivet sets for Christmas gifts. I use that thin paper made for paper piecing for the coasters, but for bigger stuff, I just draw on paper towel. It rips off easily.
But I've never tried anything really complicated. And I've noticed that if I try to paper piece while the television is on or if I'm gabbing with folks in my quilting group, I usually end up goofing up!