Sip Tea and EPP

Welcome to Sip Tea and EPP! It's the fourth year that our weekly party has been running on Instagram and Irina @nordiccrafter and I are very happy and excited to be sewing together with you.

What is EPP?

English paper piecing (EPP) is a traditional hand sewing technique, where you wrap fabric around individual paper shapes and then sew the shapes together to form patchwork patterns. It does not require fancy tools but a fine needle, thread and desire to sew with your hands. You can take your projects anywhere and sew on the go. Once you try hand sewing you will be surprised how relaxing and beneficial for your mental wellbeing it can really be.

What is #SipTeaAndEPP?

Sip Tea and EPP party is an informal weekly event that has been running on Instagram since 2018. In the beginning, it was hosted by Megan from Dolly Henry and I. We encouraged people to get together, enjoy a cup of tea and work on their long forgotten EPP projects. The weekly event quickly became popular and many people from all over the world joined in.

Unfortunately, Megan left and Lauren from Molly and Mama stepped in. Lauren dedicated a lot of her time and knowledge to the party for over a year and a half and created a caring, friendly and supportive environment for everyone interested in learning this craft or focusing on long-term EPP projects.

Last year Irina @nordiccrafter stepped in, and it has been an absolute pleasure to be hosting this event together with Irina. Irina and I tried to bring the community spirit back to Sip Tea and EPP in 2021 and we think we succeeded. We had 2 Sew Alongs (EPP Necessities SAL in February, 2021 and Christmas SAL in October-November, 2021), we shared Expert's Advice on certain topics from well known designers and teachers and lots of our own tips and projects that hopefully made the weekly meetings more interesting for you and inspired you to explore the wonderful world of English Paper Piecing.

The inspiration and support from our IG community is amazing. We enjoy so much meeting you online every Thursday and seeing your projects as well as chatting with you.

What is New in 2022?

If you participated in Sip Tea and EPP before, then you remember we used to announce a monthly theme related to EPP every first Thursday of a month.

This year we are changing the focus of the party. Irina and I decided to expand our focus beyond the EPP topic and also include basic sewing techniques that are needed to complete an EPP project. We know that many people (especially beginner sewists) enjoy basting/sewing EPP shapes without a particular project in mind. Often they simply don't know what to do with those shapes or lack basic sewing techniques (for example, applique, sewing binding or attaching a zipper etc) to transform shapes into a coaster, bag or pouch... We think that this approach would encourage people to be more adventurous and creative in completing their EPP projects rather than simply sewing shapes together and leaving them unfinished.

In 2022 instead of monthly themes we will start on January 13th with a Mystery Hexagon Project that would allow newcomers learn the basics and those of you who are more experienced share your knowledge and expertise with others. Then we shall slowly progress to more complex shapes and sewing techniques. Irina and I decided to add an element of intrigue and keep the Project mystery as we work on it. The project will be revealed at later stage closer to the finish. We will guide you step by step what shapes and other supplies are needed, how to baste and sew the shapes together, what sewing techniques we will use and learn with that particular project.

We think The Projects will keep the party structured and organised. Once a project is completed we will work on our long-term WIPs for a while and then move to another project.

We also decided to have a LIVE support Thursday. Starting in February, once a month you can ask any questions related to EPP or hand work, give feedback on our party or suggestions. It will be every Second Thursday of a month. Since Irina and I are in different time zones we would be available to answer your questions through DM or comments to a post at those times:

Irina 8.00-9.00 pm Helsinki time

Larisa 9.00-10.00 pm Sydney time

We are planning 2 Sew Alongs for 2022. Reflecting on the previous year's experience, sewing together is a motivating and fun way to get inspired, learn and make new friends. Our SALs are always very informal and relaxed. You can either make your own projects following the theme or use the ideas Irina and I will be sharing.

In February-March we will sew with recycled materials. We picked denim and shirt fabric as they are easy to find. We hope our ideas will inspire you to use what you have and give old textiles new life. We will share more about the SAL as the time comes.

Christmas Sew Along will take place later in the year and we are planning to have both Secret Santa Gift Exchange for Sip Tea and EPP and Christmas Sew Along. The details will be announced later.

Another change concerns the comments on the posts. Hashtag #sipteaandepp has been steadily growing and at the moment has 9000+ posts. The purpose of the hashtag is to make it easier to see posts related to Sip Tea and EPP. We noticed that some people misuse the hashtag for promoting their own business or their own work, often tagging others but not the hosts of the party.

Tagging the hosts helps Irina and me see your posts, comment and answer your questions rather than spend a lot of time scrolling through the hashtag. This is why we took the decision to comment ONLY on the posts that tag us in 2022.

How To Join In

It doesn't matter if you are a beginner or an experienced sewist - everyone is welcome!

Meeting time: Thursdays or any other time that suits you during the week

Meeting place: Instagram

What to do

Start a new sewing project with us, any other project that involves any type of hand work or pull out a long forgotten work-in-progress; take a photo and post it on your public Instagram account using the hashtag #sipteaandepp. Be sure to tag the hosts Irina @nordiccrafter and Larisa @stitchingnotes in your post so we can see it.

You can also follow the hashtag #sipteaandepp and use it to connect with other makers who are also sharing their projects. Like their posts, leave comments, or answer questions if needed. The idea is to be supportive and friendly and this is such a great way to reach out to others.

If your Instagram account is private you still can join #sipteaandepp - like the posts, leave a comment or ask a question.

If you have any questions we are always happy to help. Please, feel free to DM.

We hope to see many of you at Sip Tea and EPP in 2022!

Happy stitching! Larisa and Irina xo

Happy New Year, my dear friends! I hope the year has started on a good note for you and you are looking forward to another year of slow hand sewing and creating to warm your heart.

With only just a couple days left before the start of the third season of our weekly Sip Tea and EEP party that we run on Instagram, I thought I would share with you a few small changes that we are implementing this year.

Unfortunately, my lovely co-host Lauren from @mollyandmama has decided to step down and focus more on her own projects this year. I would like to thank Lauren for all her hard work, time and experience that she kindly shared with us while co-hosting the Sip Tea and EPP party over the past two years. It's been a pleasure to share this adventure with Lauren and I wish her all the very best on her creative journey.

I am very excited to introduce to you our new co-host Irina from @nordiccrafter. If you have not met Irina yet, take a few moments and visit her website where you can read about Irina and see her incredible quilts. Irina joined our party pretty much from the very beginning and she has been a valuable contributor to our weekly themes over the years sharing her work, tips, advice and simply encouraging and supporting others. I am looking forward to this new adventure with Irina!

What is Sip Tea and EPP Party?

It is a very relaxed and friendly group of wonderful crafters from around the world who get together on Instagram each week over a cup of tea (or any other drink) to slowly work on our long forgotten EPP projects or to start new ones, or learn this craft from a scratch. Every month we explore a new theme discussing it with you as we go along. We might share some photos with you, videos with tips and tricks to help you learn more about English Paper Piecing. We invite everyone to join us and share their work, thoughts, ideas and tips and ask questions. It is a wonderful community of kind and generous people who are keen to share their knowledge and their love for English Paper Piecing.

Last year was very difficult and challenging in many ways for all of us. Things did not go according to plans, inspirations and motivations were hard to find, but we have made it through. This year Irina and I would like to bring the community spirit back to Sip Tea and EPP party. We would like to focus on the benefits of the slow hand sewing for the mental and physical well-being, and to learn English Paper Piecing through working on small projects with the help of sew alongs.

When and where?

We start on the 7th of January. We will be posting (getting together) every Thursday on Instagram. If you cannot join us on Thursdays, then post any time that suits you, but most importantly find a few minutes in your busy day to slow down, get comfortable and sew a little bit with your hands.

How to join?

Anyone is welcome to Sip Tea and EPP party! No matter if you are new to EPP or an expert, join us when you would like to do a little bit of hand sewing or need some inspiration and encouragement to finish a project or have a tip to share.

It would be great if your Instagram account is public. This way we would be able to see your work, like it and comment on it. What if you your account is not public? It's not a problem. You still can join us by liking posts, leaving comments, asking questions. You can always send Irina and I a direct message if you have a question or a suggestion.

Make sure to have the basic English Paper Piecing supplies ready (a thin needle, thread, some paper and fabric scraps) and a desire to learn EPP.

Post your photos under the #sipteaandepp hashtag, tag Irina @nordiccrafter and I @stitchingnotes.

Visit other posts under the hashtag, like them, leave comments or answer some questions if you can help.

Why is it important to tag us and use the hashtag?

Over the years we have noticed, that people use the #sipteaandepp hashtag for random posts unrelated to the party. To reduce the time we spend scrolling through all the posts, it would be easier if you tag us directly so we can see your posts and comment on them.

Sip Tea and EPP Party themes

Below is the list of the 12 themes we picked for this year. They will give you an idea what we will be talking about during the year and what we will be working on.

1. Welcome to Sip Tea and EEP

2. Basting Techniques and Sew Along

3. Joining EPP Shapes

4. Variety of EPP Shapes

5. Tools in Details

6. Fabrics

7. Embellishments

8. Quilting and Finishing EPP Projects

9. Books and Inspirations

10. Christmas Sew Along Pt. 1

11. Christmas Sew Along Pt. 2

12. A Year in Review

Each month will be roughly split into four sub-themes that I am going to cover in seperate posts as we go along.

What is new this year?

You might have noticed that we have two sew alongs planned for this year. We will talk about them in details once we start the party and move through the year.

In February we will have an "EPP Necessities" sew along. We thought that it would be great not to simply sew hexagons while learning English Paper Piecing, but rather learn though working on a small useful project that you would be able to keep or gift to someone once finished.

In October we will start part 1 of Christmas sew along. We have a few fun ideas for you to play with, but you have to wait for that.

We also would like to bring you an Expert's Advice this year on some of the topics that would help you explore the wonderful world of English Paper Piecing and give you an opportunity to learn from well known designers and teachers.

This party has been wonderful so far with many people joining us every week for some slow stitching that brings calm, joy and warms your heart. You can join us any time throughout the week when you get inspired or you find a few minutes to yourself. If you have any questions or need some help with starting your first ever EPP project, this place would be your starting point.

Please come and join us! Looking forward to seeing you all! Happy slow stitching! Larisa xox