How to Strip Piece (Step by Step)

Strip piecing is one of those techniques that feels like a shortcut and a skill at the same time. Once you get the hang of it, you'll wonder why you ever cut individual pieces one at a time.

Step 1: Cut your strips and lay out your order. Cut each strip to the width your pattern calls for, along the width of fabric unless it says otherwise. Before you sew a single seam, lay your strips out in the order the pattern shows you. This is the moment to catch a color in the wrong spot, not five minutes from now with thread already in the machine.

Step 2: Gather your pins and thread. A pincushion within reach and thread that matches your project keep you from stopping mid-seam. If your pattern uses two contrasting fabrics side by side, like the coral and green shown here, it's worth double checking your thread color blends reasonably with both rather than standing out against one.

Step 3: Sew your strips together with a scant ¼" seam. Feed your strips through with the seam allowance you tested earlier, right sides together, one seam at a time. Keep your fabric feeding straight and even. This is where a wavy or uneven feed shows up later as a strip set that won't cut cleanly.

Step 4: Continue adding strips of fabric to the strip set.

Step 5: Press as you go, not just at the end. Press each seam right after you sew it, following whatever direction your pattern specifies, usually toward the darker fabric. A pressing mat like the wool one shown here holds heat well and keeps your strip set from shifting while you work. Pressing as you go instead of waiting until the whole set is sewn keeps your seams flat and your strip set accurate.

Step 6: Check your finished strip set for flat, even seams. Before you cut anything, look at the whole strip set laid flat. It should lie smooth with no puckers or hidden folds at the seams. If something looks off here, it's much easier to fix now than after you've cut it into segments.

Step 7: Square up one short end before you cut segments. Line your ruler up on one end of the strip set and trim it straight. If that first cut isn't square, every segment you cut after it will carry the same angle, and your points won't match later.

Step 8: Cut your segments perpendicular to the seams. Using the measurement your pattern calls for, make your cuts straight across the strip set. Work in one direction and keep your ruler steady rather than shifting the fabric underneath it.

Step 9: Line up multiple segments to confirm consistency. Cut a full stack of segments and lay them side by side before sewing. If one segment is noticeably narrower or wider than the rest, that's your sign a cut went crooked somewhere in the stack. Better to catch it here than after they're sewn into the block.

Step 10: Sew segments together in the alternating pattern your design calls for. This is where the individual strip sets start looking like your finished plaid, stripe, or pattern. Nest your seams as you go so the intersections line up cleanly. If you haven't read our nesting seams tutorial yet, this is exactly where it comes into play.

Common errors and how to fix them:

Your strip set comes out wavy or rippled. You're feeding the fabric unevenly, usually by pulling it from behind the needle instead of letting the machine feed it naturally. Slow down and guide the fabric without tension in either direction.

Your segments measure inconsistently once cut. Your seam allowance likely drifted partway through sewing the strip set, or your ruler shifted while cutting. Recheck your seam allowance test and hold your ruler firmly with your whole hand, not just your fingertips, while cutting.

Your colors ended up in the wrong order. This one's simple. Fan your strips out and double check placement before you sew each new seam, not after the whole set is together.

Your finished strip set has small puckers at the seams. This usually means a seam wasn't pressed flat before the next one was sewn over it. Press each seam completely before adding the next strip, and use a hot iron with steady pressure rather than a quick swipe.