Batting pieces for paper piecing projects and related methods

Abstract

Methods for English Paper Piecing and paper piecing quilting projects comprised of using pre-cut individual pieces of nonwoven batting having uniform or non-uniform selected shapes and sizes as foundation pieces for creation of the patches used in the paper piecing projects and quilts and leaving those pre-cut pieces of batting that are the foundation pieces in-place in the sewn patches through completion of the paper piecing project or completion of a quilt.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating English Paper Piecing and paper piecing quilting projects comprised of: obtaining a nonwoven batting material; selecting a desired shape and size for die cutting the batting material into at least one individual batting piece; die cutting the batting material into the selected shape and size to form the individual batting piece; repeating the die cutting process so that multiple individual batting pieces are formed; providing the multiple individual batting pieces to a quilter in the form of a kit for use by the quilter as foundation pieces in paper piecing projects.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the nonwoven batting material is 100% polyester batting.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the nonwoven batting material has an adhesive coating on at least one side, and wherein the adhesive coating is water soluble.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the nonwoven batting material is 100% cotton batting.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the individual batting pieces are polygonal in shape such that the all of the individual batting pieces provided to the quilter in the kit for use as foundation pieces have a uniform polygonal shape.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the nonwoven cotton batting is impregnated with a stiffening resin and is coated on at least one side with a layer of adhesive that is water soluble.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the nonwoven batting material is a mixture of cotton and polyester.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the multiple individual batting pieces provided to the quilter in the kit for use as foundation pieces are not removed from the paper piecing project prior to its completion and therefore remain a part of the completed project.

9. An improvement to the English Paper Piecing method of creating paper piecing projects comprising the following method: obtaining a first piece of batting material; selecting a desired shape and size for die-cutting multiple foundation pieces out of the first piece of batting material; die-cutting multiple foundation pieces of a uniform shape and size out of the first piece of batting material and thereby creating multiple, separate foundation pieces with a uniform shape and size that may later be used in paper piecing projects; concurrently providing the multiple foundation pieces to a quilter for use in creating a paper piecing project.

10. The method of claim 9, further including: prior to die-cutting, impregnating the first piece of batting material with a water soluble stiffening resin and coating one side of the first piece of batting material with a water soluble adhesive such that each of the foundation pieces ultimately provided to the quilter is comprised of batting material, water soluble stiffening resin, and adhesive coating.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first piece of batting material is nonwoven polyester batting.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the first piece of batting material is nonwoven cotton batting.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the first piece of batting material is a nonwoven batting comprised of a mixture of cotton and polyester fibers.

14. The method of claim 9 further comprising: the step of concurrently providing multiple foundation pieces to a quilter is done in the form of a kit that contains the multiple foundation pieces for the quilter's use in a paper piecing project.

15. The method of claim 10 further comprising: applying a sheet of release film to the adhesive coating prior to die-cutting the multiple foundation pieces out of the first piece of batting material such that following the die-cutting of the multiple foundation pieces from the first piece of batting material, each of the foundation pieces will be comprised of batting material, water soluble stiffening resin, adhesive coating, and release film that is releasably attached to the adhesive coating.

16. The method of claim 9 further comprising: the quilter cutting a piece of fabric into a fabric patch that has the same shape as a selected foundation piece, but with the size of the fabric patch being larger than the foundation piece; the quilter attaching the fabric patch directly to the foundation piece by sewing them together and thereby creating a paper piecing patch for further use in creating the paper piecing project; the quilter repeating the first two steps as many times as desired until a desired number of paper piecing patches have been created; the quilter attaching multiple paper piecing patches together by sewing them together to form a block; the quilter creating one or more blocks in the above manner, wherein the one or more blocks will be incorporated into the final paper piecing project; the quilter completing the paper piecing project without ever removing the multiple foundation pieces.

17. An improvement to the English Paper Piecing method of quilting comprising the following method: obtaining a first piece of batting material; selecting desired shapes and sizes for die-cutting multiple foundation pieces out of the first piece of batting material, wherein the shapes and sizes need not be uniform; die-cutting the first piece of batting into multiple foundation pieces having the selected shapes and sizes that may later be used in paper piecing projects; concurrently providing the multiple foundation pieces to a quilter for use in creating a paper piecing project; the quilter cutting pieces of fabric into fabric patches that have shapes corresponding to the provided foundation pieces, but with the size of the fabric patches being larger than the provided foundation pieces; the quilter attaching the fabric patches directly to the respective foundation pieces by sewing the fabric patches to the foundation pieces and thereby creating multiple paper piecing patches for use in creating a quilt; the quilter attaching multiple paper piecing patches together by sewing them together to form a block; the quilter creating one or more blocks in the above manner, wherein the one or more blocks will be incorporated into a quilt top; the quilter completing a quilt by attaching the quilt top comprised of the one or more blocks to a second piece of batting material and a quilt bottom by sewing the quilt top, the second piece of batting, and the quilt bottom together to form a completed quilt.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising: the quilter refraining from ever removing the multiple foundation pieces from the quilt top such that the multiple foundation pieces remain a part of the completed quilt.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a back perspective view of an embodiment of the invention during use.

(2) FIG. 2 is a back view of an embodiment of the invention during use.

(3) FIG. 3 is a back perspective view of an embodiment of the invention during use.

(4) FIG. 4 is a back view of an embodiment of the invention during use.

(5) FIG. 5 is a back view of an embodiment of the invention during use.

(6) FIG. 6 is a front view of a sewn EPP block comprised of multiple patches created using an embodiment of the invention.

(7) FIG. 7 is a back view of an embodiment of the invention during use.

(8) FIG. 8 is a front view of a sewn EPP block comprised of multiple patches created using an embodiment of the invention.

(9) FIG. 9 is a front view of one of the pre-cut, nonwoven batting foundation pieces of the present invention.

(10) FIG. 10 is a front view of one of the pre-cut, nonwoven batting foundation pieces of the present invention.

(11) FIG. 11 is a front view of one of the pre-cut, nonwoven batting foundation pieces of the present invention.

(12) FIG. 12 is a front view of one of the pre-cut, nonwoven batting foundation pieces of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(13) FIG. 1 illustrates a pre-cut, hexagonal-shaped foundation piece 20 made of nonwoven batting material being applied to the wrong side of a somewhat larger hexagonal-shaped fabric piece 10. The hexagonal dotted lines 30 on the fabric piece 10 are intended to illustrate the fact that the foundation piece 20 is smaller than the fabric piece 10. Once the foundation piece 20 is centered and placed against the wrong side of the fabric piece 10, the areas between the six edges of the foundation piece 20 and the six outer edges of the fabric piece 10 will define six areas of seam allowance 15. As shown in FIG. 2, the seam allowance 15 for each of the six edges of the fabric piece 10 is folded over the corresponding six edges of the foundation piece 20 such that the foundation piece 20 will be partially encased or enveloped within the fabric piece 10.

(14) As shown in FIG. 5, the hexagonal-shaped foundation piece 20 that is partially encased within the hexagonal-shaped fabric piece 10 is used to create the hexagonal-shaped EPP patch 100 that is sewn with stitches 25 that are sewn through the seam allowances 15 of the fabric piece 10 and through the foundation piece 20 in order to hold the fabric piece 10 in the same size and geometric pattern as the underlying foundation piece 20, thereby yielding the hexagonal-shaped EPP patch 100. As shown by FIG. 6, multiple hexagonal-shaped EPP patches 100 may be combined and sewn together to form a block 105. In the prior art, the foundation piece 20 would have been made of paper, plastic or some other rigid or semi-rigid material, and it would have been manually removed either after the individual EPP patch 100 is constructed (as shown in FIG. 5), or after the block 105 is completed (as shown in FIG. 6). With the present invention, the foundation piece 20 is a pre-cut piece of nonwoven batting material that is not removed and remains part of the EPP patches, both in the completed blocks 105 and in the final completed quilt or quilted item.

(15) FIGS. 3, 4, 7, 8 are variations on the same themes as discussed above with regard to FIGS. 1, 2, 5, 6. FIG. 3 shows a diamond-shaped foundation piece 50 being placed onto the wrong side of a diamond-shaped fabric piece 40. As illustrated by the diamond-shaped dotted lines 60 on the diamond-shaped fabric piece 40, the diamond-shaped fabric piece 40 is larger than the foundation piece 50 such that the four edges of the fabric piece 40 define areas of fabric that extend beyond the four edges of the foundation piece 50, and said areas comprise a diamond-shaped seam allowance 45. As shown in FIG. 4, the diamond-shaped seam allowance 45 is folded over the four edges of the foundation piece 50 such that the foundation piece 50 is partially encased in the fabric piece 40. As shown in FIG. 7, thread stitches 55 are sewn through the areas of seam allowance 45 so that a diamond-shaped EPP patch 200 is created. As shown in FIG. 8, multiple diamond-shaped EPP patches 200 formed using the foundation pieces of the present invention may be sewn together to form a diamond-shaped block 205. As discussed previously, with the present invention the diamond-shaped foundation pieces 50 will not be removed from the EPP patches 200 or the blocks 205 because they are made of a nonwoven batting material that is intended to remain part of the diamond-shaped EPP patches 200 through completion of the final quilt or quilted item. This is different from the prior art in which foundation pieces of paper, plastic, or other rigid or semi-rigid material would have been removed after patches were formed or after blocks were created.

(16) It should be understood that the drawings of the block patterns 105, 205 are merely illustrative of a few types of blocks that may be created in the paper piecing process by the quilter. The reality is that an incredibly wide variety of block patterns may be created using the variously shaped and sized EPP patches corresponding to the variously shaped and sized nonwoven batting pieces of the present invention.

(17) FIGS. 9-12 are simply intended to represent the fact that the pre-cut nonwoven batting foundation pieces of the present invention may come in a wide variety of geometric shapes and sizes. The pre-cut foundation pieces can come in polygonal shapes, such as triangles 60, squares 70, and octagons 80. Obviously, various other polygonal shapes like pentagons, rhomboids, stars, etc. would also be possible. FIG. 12 illustrates that the pre-cut nonwoven batting foundation pieces could even have a circular shape 90.

(18) It should be appreciated that kits containing multiple pre-cut foundation pieces of nonwoven batting material having the same size and same geometric shape could be provided for facilitating the EPP process and facilitating rapid creation of EPP patches and blocks. Likewise, kits containing multiple pre-cut foundation pieces of nonwoven batting having different shapes or different sizes could also be provided for facilitating the EPP process and making the rapid creation of EPP patches and blocks much easier. This would be of great benefit to both novice and experienced quilters alike.

(19) As discussed previously, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the nonwoven batting used for the pre-cut foundation pieces is a 100% polyester batting, such as, for example, the Thermore batting product that is manufactured by Hobbs Bonded Fibers NA, LLC. Such 100% polyester batting is advantageous because it does not shrink when washed, it will not wrinkle, and it is thin enough and lightweight enough to provide a low-loft appearance that is desirable for EPP projects, yet it is durable and sturdy enough to be used for foundation pieces that are hand sewn to small, overlying fabric pieces. Polyester batting is inherently stiff enough to hold the pattern for the fabric pieces in order to make the EPP patches, and in that regard it performs at least as well as paper, freezer paper, or cardboard for the purpose of serving as a foundation for the EPP patches.

(20) In another embodiment of the invention, a nonwoven batting material made out of cotton or a polyester-cotton blend may be used for pre-cutting a variety of foundation pieces having predetermined sizes and shapes.

(21) In yet a further embodiment, such polyester, cotton, or polyester-cotton blended nonwoven battings may be coated or impregnated with a stiffening resin that causes the pre-cut foundation pieces to be even stiffer so that they are better able to hold the pattern of the EPP patches during the EPP process. This is not necessary with 100% polyester nonwoven batting for the reasons discussed above, but adding a stiffening resin to cotton or poly-cotton blended nonwoven batting can greatly enhance the stiffness of the foundation pieces and the patches. A water soluble stiffening resin is preferable so that it can be washed out when the final completed quilt or quilted item is later washed.

(22) In an additional embodiment, the pre-cut foundation pieces having various geometric patterns and sizes may also be coated with an adhesive on at least one side such that they will have at least one tacky side. In this way, the wrong side (back side) of a fabric piece can be temporarily adhered to that tacky side of the pre-cut nonwoven batting foundation piece using the adhesive prior to the interconnecting seams being sewn through the fabric piece and the foundation piece during sewing to create the EPP patch. This adhesive coating that is on at least one side of the precut foundation pieces may be covered with a release film prior to the time that the foundation pieces are to be used in connection with the fabric pieces to create the EPP patches. Use of such release films on the tacky side of the foundation pieces will make the process of using adhesive-coated foundation pieces in the EPP method less messy and less difficult. The adhesive is preferably water soluble so that it can be washed out after the final quilt or quilted item is completed.

(23) In some embodiments there may be an adhesive layer on both sides of the pre-cut nonwoven batting foundation pieces, and both adhesive layers may be covered with release films. Whether adhesive is applied to one or both sides of the foundation pieces, the adhesives that are used preferably will not be heat-activated adhesives since those types of adhesives would be inappropriate for most EPP projects that involve small patches being sewn by hand.

(24) The embodiments and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention may be best understood and appreciated with reference to the drawings, descriptions, and claims. Where used in the various figures of the drawings, the same numerals designate the same or similar parts. Furthermore, when the terms top, bottom, front, back, distal, proximal, lateral, vertical, horizontal, central, first, second, third, inside, internal, outside, external, end, ends, side, sides, edge, edges and similar terms are used herein, it should be understood that, unless otherwise specifically stated or otherwise made specifically clear by context, these terms have reference only to the structure shown in the drawings as it would appear to a person viewing the drawings, and such terms are utilized in order to facilitate describing the invention and in order to facilitate a better understanding of the invention.

(25) Although the invention has been described with reference to several specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternative embodiments of the invention, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description of the invention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claims will cover such modifications that fall within the scope of the invention.