Foundation Paper Piecing; Master Detailed Design and Simple Sewing

September 17, 2026

Have you ever seen a quilt pattern, quickly realised it was a custom/advanced pattern and thought, "there's no way I could afford that” or “that looks too complex for me”, well now you can afford it and you will be able to confidently sew it as well! With the help of my book Foundation Paper Piecing Guide; Master Detailed Design and Simple Sewing, you will be able to confidently design and sew your very own custom Foundation Paper Piecing pattern right at home.

How It All Began

My name is Sarah Pitcher and I own and run Pitcher’s Boutique LLC; I design and sell unique, custom and sometimes free Foundation Paper Piecing (FPP) patterns. I grew up with a love for creativity and was often spotted painting my bedroom, redecorating, making friendship bracelets, cake decorating and later on, in my teen years, began sewing. When my husband and I got married, he joined the Air Force and our first base was in Okinawa, Japan. While living in Japan, I learned to make quilts, bags and every project I could get my hands on. At the end of our time in Japan we had our oldest son.

Being an Air Force family meant we were destined to move and after Japan, we moved to New Mexico for a year, where I had our youngest son. Then we moved to Northern California where we stayed for six years.

Finally, being able to put down some routes, I was able to dig back into quilting. One project that I had wanted to create was a door hanging for Halloween. This took me down the rabbit hole of Foundation Paper Piecing, where I learned how to print, sew, cry a little, seam rip a lot and eventually finish a block or two.

At one point I wanted to sew a specific style haunted house, so I looked all over and could not find an FPP pattern that I liked. At this point I felt like I could clearly design and make my own FPP haunted house pattern.

Even though it took some time and practice, I did eventually finish the door hanger and it was a work of art. I was ecstatic and loved what I had created; which then gave me the confidence to continue creating FPP patterns and many years later start to sell those designs as well.

With another move, to the United Kingdom, and inspiration all around; my FPP patterns began to grow and become very detailed. The last few years I have enjoyed creating custom FPP patterns for others as well as my Silly Animal collection, Steampunk and currently the Nocturnal Nook Quilt.

So why FPP? Because it allows you to use a specific image or design where you then can create a simple or even a complex design and be as creative or realistic as you would like.

Step by Step Guide

If you are currently wanting to accomplish simple or complex FPP design, then my book will be the perfect guide for you. The book provides recommended tools and exercises to get you started. It walks you through the process of designing a FPP pattern from the image, to designing, sectioning, sewing and finishing it with a project.

This guide provides you with simple, intermediate and advanced designs that get more complex and challenging as you work through the book. Each design will build on the skills you learned from the design before to help you achieve the complex and detailed advanced FPP pattern at the end of the book. The book also has 5 projects and 9 patterns for you to sew and create with.

Achieving A Custom FPP Pattern

Once you have worked through the book and accomplished the designs and sewing of each project you can then take those skills and apply them to creating your very own custom FPP pattern. Do you have a pet that you love or has sadly passed and you want to create a special FPP block of them? By the end of this book, you will be able to create a custom FPP pattern that you then can sew into a wall hanging, bag or pillow and keep for a lifetime.

Creating something special, like a FPP block, from an image of your loved pet is a great way to use your sewing and quilting skills. It might look hard or confusing at the beginning, but you will work through a few practice pieces and learn simple ways to design basic shapes which will then translate into the images that you work through in the book. It's like learning to read or riding a bike; once you have the basics down, the rest will fall into place.

So, now when you see that custom FPP pattern, or a design that looks way too complex; just remember you can pick up a copy of Foundation Paper Piecing Guide; Master Detailed Design and Simple Sewing to help you create, design and sew that project.