Freezer Paper patterns?

Yup!

I hate to cut out my original copies of my patterns. I have a tendency to lose just one piece, which sometimes makes the pattern useless. While I still worked, I would run a copy of the pattern pieces, so I could cut the copy and keep my original intact, and never worry about losing that one piece.

But now that I don't work anymore, I don't have access to a printer that'll print bigger than letter sized paper. That's fine normally, but for some patterns I have, I need 8 1/2" x 14" or 11" x 17" to make my copies. So instead of moping about it, or going through the trouble of scanning and piecing prints together, this is what I do.

I trace the pattern onto freezer paper! It works really well when you're fussy cutting too, which I did recently with my Quattro Bag I made (pattern from StudioKat Designs). I used this amazing peacock fabric from Timeless Treasures, and I wanted to get the perfect cut for the pouch piece.

First, I trace the pattern piece onto freezer paper and cut it out, then, I press it onto the front side of the fabric, lining it up over the area I want to fussy cut.

Then I hold it up to a window or a light, and make sure that what shows through is exactly what I want to cut out. If not, I peel it off and adjust it, and press it on again (that's the best part about freezer paper, it sticks over and over.)

Once it's pressed onto the exact area I want to cut, I cut it out.

Voila! The perfect pouch piece with the peacock fussy cut into it.

It's a little extra work, but it makes fussy cutting so much easier. And since I already wanted an extra copy of the pattern pieces, it worked out well anyway. And for the fusible pieces, just pin them instead of pressing them.