English Paper Piecing Software: Papers You Print

English paper piecing software should size the quilt by the paper’s side — the way hexies are sold — and print the papers. Quiltler does that in the browser: Grandmother’s Flower Garden, tumbling blocks, hexagon stars, or a photo turned into pieces. Same studio on iPhone and iPad.

English paper piecing software is the EPP job: hexagons, diamonds, tumblers, hand-sewn over papers, counted by the length of a side. Quiltler is that category of tool in the studio, not a boxed installer of hexie clip-art. This page is EPP. It is not foundation paper piecing software — FPP is how many pieced blocks are sewn onto a printed foundation, a different method Quiltler also prints. If you wanted the whole product map, use quilt design software.

What you can start as EPP

Quiltler shape library of quilt shapes including triangles, curves, hexagons and stars
Shapes in the library: hexagons and their relatives have a side length; they are not clip-art.

Papers, templates, and what you print

EPP papers are the card you wrap fabric over. Quiltler sizes the quilt from that side, then the printable pattern prints the papers: one page per shape at true scale, where the dashed line is the paper and the solid line is the fabric with seam allowance. Assembly comes in numbered section kits — pieces by fabric, papers by shape — that you can bag up and carry. A one-inch square sits on the page so a printer that scaled the PDF cannot silently shrink every piece.

That printable pattern comes with Quilter, or with a one-time $4.99 purchase of that quilt’s pattern. The free account keeps one saved quilt and ten fabric photos. Cutting sizes and yardage for a quilt you design come with that purchase too. Public calculator pages stay free. The free quilt design software page explains the free account, written without a countdown clock. Designing hexies does not require a card.

Quiltler cut library on iPhone with half square triangle, quarter circle, Drunkard's Path and Dresden blade shapes
A shape carries its own fabric math. EPP hexies share that spine with every other piece in Quiltler.

EPP is not FPP

Search mixes them because both say “paper piecing.” Foundation paper piecing sews fabric onto a printed foundation, often through the paper, for stars and geese and odd angles a rotary cutter hates. English paper piecing wraps fabric over a paper shape and whip-stitches the edges, usually by hand. Quiltler prints both. It will not pretend a hexie flower is a foundation block, or that a flying geese unit is a hexie. The FPP page is foundation paper piecing software.

You can mix a quilt that has EPP and pieced blocks; they are different starts and different grids. On-point square-grid quilts are still a rotate-and-place job, described on quilt layout software. The online quilt designer is the tab you open, on a web browser or a phone.

Piece count is capped so a ¾-inch hexie on a king bed cannot mint thousands of papers by accident. If the size you asked for would blow the cap, the studio tells you before you start.

Around English paper piecing

English paper piecing software FAQ

Does English paper piecing software print the papers?

Quiltler’s printable pattern prints EPP papers at the piece’s real size, one page per shape, with a one-inch calibration square. Identical papers collapse to one sheet you repeat. Printing needs Quilter or this quilt’s pattern ($4.99); designing the hexie quilt is free.

Is this the same as foundation paper piecing software?

No. EPP is fabric wrapped over papers, usually hand-sewn. FPP is fabric sewn onto a foundation for pieced blocks. Quiltler prints EPP papers for EPP quilts and numbered foundation sheets from its paper piecing workspace — and will not mix up the papers.

Can I design English paper piecing on a phone?

Yes. The same studio is on iPhone and iPad. Hexie quilts are on your iPhone, iPad and computer. A finger is a blunt pointer for tiny papers; it is still the same quilt.

How does free work for EPP?

Designing is free: pick a hexie start, set the side, recolor. The free account keeps one saved quilt and ten fabric photos. Cutting sizes, yardage and printed papers for a quilt you design come with Quilter, or with a one-time $4.99 purchase of that quilt’s pattern.

Open English paper piecing in the studio

Pick a hexie start. Set the paper’s side. That is EPP in a tab, with papers to print from Quilter or this quilt’s pattern ($4.99).

Open the studio

Free to start · one saved quilt · ten fabrics