It’s been a while since I shared a sewing project but this year I’ve already finished far more projects than normal. I’ve fallen back in love with English Paper Piecing which is something I’ve always loved. I find the whole process really therapeutic – from choosing fabrics to making up my fabric hexagons and stitching them together – it’s the perfect mindful craft.

I wanted to craft something seasonal for Valentines Day and decided to make an English Paper Pieced piece of hoop art. I’ve recently started displaying all my finished embroidery hoops and wanted to add some EPP shapes to the mix.

An English Paper Pieced quilt was my first proper ‘make’ back when I was about 16 and it’s something I’ve always enjoyed. It’s the simplest technique, you just fold fabric over a paper template and hand sew the pieces together.

English Paper Pieced heart equipment
one inch hexagon template
scissors
thread
selection of Liberty fabrics

Liberty English Paper Pieced hoop art

Last year I started making a Liberty London fabric book. It’s just a plain notebook but I add a swatch of all the Liberty fabrics I buy. I leave plenty of space so I can make a note of where I use the fabric. It helps me record all my sewing projects but also to identify the fabrics I use. I love looking through it and if anyone asks me the name of the fabric I can easily tell them!

I had quite a few pink Liberty fabrics so got them all out and started to cut out my hexies. I made sure my prints were all symmetrical, although I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bad combination of Liberty.

I made up 26 little hexies then started hand stitching them into columns. Then I stitched the columns together.

It came together really quickly. I gave it a quick press on the front and back.

I think the back of the piece looked almost as good as the front. I carefully removed the paper templates and gave it another press.

I chose a neutral fabric and pinned it in place before stitching round the heart with a whip stitches

Finally I was able to place the fabric within the embroidery frame. I carefully cut off the excess fabric and used a running stitch around the edge of the fabric, pulling it tight.