Upside Down and Backwards!

I've never done much paper foundation piecing, but I wanted a basic five-pointed star for a little 4th of July zip pouch.

I printed off this homemade template and set out to do everything upside down and backwards :) That's all I remember from a paper foundation piecing project I did years ago. 

I cut the template apart and numbered my sections. I chose to do the big one in the middle as a single piece (#6) instead of separating them into three, but you could do that and end up with a different color for the center pentagon. 

Now for the fun part! I flipped the paper over and used a glue stick to keep piece #1 in place on the back side with the wrong side facing the paper. Make sure to cover the entire outline with at least a ¼” margin on all sides. I cut my pieces extra big just in case they shifted a little.

Layer piece #2 on top with the edges lined up. I like to cut these pieces while they are lying the way they will eventually be, and then flip them back over to sew them in place. It helps to figure out the actual size that will be needed.

Sew from the front of the template exactly on the line between #1 and #2. I use a 1.8 stitch length and backstitch at the start and stop. This helps to perforate the paper so it is easy to tear off later.

Press the background white out, away from the star point. It's important to press between each seam to eliminate little folds or tucks.

I folded the template back along the #3 line and used the ¼” line on my ruler to trim the excess off.

Line up piece #3 along the freshly trimmed edge and sew it into place. Press that background piece out flat.

Since I had just created this template, I had to add the ¼” seam allowance to the bottom edge. I used the ¼” line on the ruler to trim off the excess fabric, leaving the seam allowance for when this section is joined to the rest of the star.

Here is #6, the center section. I used the glue stick to hold the template in place and trimmed ¼” all the way around the template. 

I continued working with each section, adding pieces in numerical order.

Now to assemble! The center piece #6 is sewn to pieces #4 and 5. I staggered the star so the edges would line up once sewn. Press that seam open.

Add sections 1, 2, and 3. Sew along the edge of the paper and press that seam open.

Finally, join units 7, 8, and 9 to the bottom edge. 

Here is the star once it is assembled. I made it extra big so I could trim the edges down to square it up.

Pull the paper off each section from the back, making sure to get it out of the seams as well.

I wanted this star to make a zip pouch, so I added some white to both sides and red and white 1 ½” strips until I got the size I wanted.

I quilted it with batting and backing.

I added a zipper and a wrist strap, then followed these directions to make a box-bottom bag. And just like that, a 4th of July zip pouch was born 🙂

Happy Sunday, everyone,

Krista

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