FPP - Print Your Own - 8" Pineapple Block with 2 center block sizes for fussy cutting

Name: FPP - Print Your Own - 8" Pineapple Block with 2 center block sizes for fussy cutting
Brand: Etsy
Price: 1.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Product details

This sale is for one PDF file, not a finished product. This file is printable and allows you to make your own sheets of simple-to-sew 8" pineapple blocks. Just use a regular white copy paper and print at 100%. Print as many as you need for a project! Cut along the outermost dashed lines - this is precision drafted by me and the block is made to measure to exactly 8" if printed at fullsize/100% with no reducing, along with a 1/4" joining allowance. There is a one inch test square on each sheet.

The sample image is shown with thanks to Julie for her Kaffe/Grunge version - thank you for sharing!

There are TWO VERSIONS - one has a smaller center block with larger corner triangles - that uses an approx. 2-5/8" (edge measurement) center square (version B), while the second (version A) has a larger 3" center block (great for fussy cutting!) but smaller corner triangles.

This is a no-frills block - no instructions included so it assumes you already know how to use a foundation paper piecing pattern. Just start at piece 1 and work your way around to to the last corner piece. Works as a great scrap-buster using 1.5" strips of fabric - use up those scraps! After sewing the strips in place, use a rotary cutter to cut along the dashed outer border - that will allow for a 1/4" seam allowance when piecing multiple blocks together.

If you've never FPP'd, you can search YouTube for some great how-to videos. I generally just hold the strips in place on the backside of the paper and sew with the printed side up. Don't worry if your first block or two is a little wonky - you'll get better with practice! I like to finger press my strips open between pieces but you can also keep an iron near by to keep things crisp and in line while you sew.

The last step is to give the sewn block a quick press, turn it over and trim along the dotted lines (I keep a somewhat dull blade in one of my rotary cutters just for this last step - you don't want to cut through paper with a good blade!) I like to join all my blocks before removing the paper - this provides you with the perfect joining edge. The final step is to peel off the paper backing, and if you keep a small stitch length as you sew, this step is a piece o'cake! Just stretch your block a tiny bit and the paper will pull away from the seams, then all you do is tear it away from the backside. I'm even showing a picture of the back of a finished block so you can see it's not all that pretty, and I don't even use perfectly trimmed strip widths - none of that matters because the front side will be perfect!