Facing EPP Quilt with EPP

Let's say you've pieced together a top using English Paper Piecing and you have all these angular shapes around the edges. How will you finish those edges? You could certainly trim them and use a straight binding. Or you could create a facing with more EPP shapes! Here's how...

1. Press your top well, especially around the edges. Remove all of the papers.

2. Quilt as desired. Don't stitch into the seam allowances around the outside edges.

 

3. Trim away the batting and backing a little bit smaller than the finished edge.

 

 

4. Create a ring of EPP shapes that mirrors the quilt top. That's your facing.

 

5. Place the facing right sides together with the quilt top.

 

 

6. Whipstitch all the way around the outside edges.

 

 

 

 7. Remove the papers from the facing.

 

 

 

8. Pull the quilt top through the hole in the middle of the facing and flip the facing to the back side. Carefully poke out the corners and smooth the batting and backing into the corners and along the edges.

 

 

9. Stitch down the inside edges of the facing to the back of the quilt.

 

10. Done!

I used this method to finish my "Our Lady" quilt. I had purchased a panel with four images of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Inspired by Brigitte Giblin's work, I framed each of the images with fussy cut EPP roses. I didn't want to chop off the edges, so I used an EPP facing.

For other options for finishing EPP, please refer to Geta's post.