Yappy dog quiltlet

This is unashamedly foundation piecing (called paper piecing in the US). To avoid having to take out the foundation and unpick all those fiddly bits of paper that get left in the seams, I used fabric as the foundation.

But first I needed a pattern - so I made it by folding a piece of paper -
Then I folded my fabric to get four layers, laid the paper pattern on top, and punched through at the intersections of lines with a pointy awl. (Put an old phone book or the Sunday paper underneath!) You can just about see the dots (mirror image) in the bottom, and how they joined up on top.

Here are the four foundations, ready to be cut apart -

To help me remember which piece goes on next, I numbered each "row" -

and then cut the block into those rows -

ok, it's ready to add fabric. Note that the fabric is upside down - so you can see the stitching lines drawn on the front, the fabric gets sewn on the back. (I used a Sharpie and it went right through the foundation fabric.)

The first piece in each strip will be covered by the next piece. They don't have to be cut to size before sewing - in fact it's preferable to use a larger piece and cut it back once you know it fits!

Here the second piece, stitched along the seam line - I'm trying to cut it a bit larger than its finished size. Don't do this - there's a better way....

The better way is to sew along the seam line marked on the fabric, then turn the piece over, check that the new piece will actually cover the backing, then unfold it and

trim the seam neatly -

After sewing each row, sew the rows together -

Some borders make this into an A4-sized Little Gem

It's had the "pillowcase" treatment and now needs a bit of quilting.