Common EPP mistakes and fixes

Visible stitches, soft corners, sticky needles and gaps.
- Stitches show on the front: take smaller bites of the folds.
- Soft, rounded corners: wrap fabric firmly at each point when basting.
- Needle gumming up: too much glue, or stitching before it dries.
- Stitched through the paper: catch only the fabric folds.
- Glue marks: test the glue on a light scrap first.
Watch
Top Tips To Improve Your English Paper Piecing Technique (20:12)
By Emma Jones Vintage Sewing Box · Open on YouTube
Chosen from its title and channel: a 20-minute video from Emma Jones Vintage Sewing Box on the same topic as this guide. Embedded from YouTube with credit; we don't host it. It only loads when you press play.
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Sources
All checked 1 November 2026. We read these; we did not test the products ourselves.