Drawing pencil lines on the fabric lasted just long enough for me to understand what I needed to accomplish.
I found a resource for printed paper to pin onto the squares the same as pinning on a dressmaker pattern. It worked great, but I balked at the idea of buying new rolls to do multiple quilts.
Painter's tape is the least expensive, and works wonderful, but I got tired of manually cutting it down to 1/2-inch width.
I found Quilting Tape 1/2"X20 Yards-Beige
, and I've been using it ever since.
Half-inch tape is definitely easier to work with than anything else I tried. It lifts off the fabric without leaving a sticky spot --- that was why I tried painter's tape first.. And the same piece of tape can be used several times if handled carefully, and depending on how much lint the fabric gives up.
But it's still not perfect. The first problem I had was from trying to sew right on the edge so I wouldn't be taking up too much seam allowance. It was not possible to sew that close without at least a few stitches nipping the edge of the tape (about half, at least). That was NOT good! Getting the tape back off the fabric when it was stitched down was about as close to impossible as anything I want to try.
The only way I found to avoid sewing into the tape was to get farther away from it.
Unfortunately that ends up adding another 1/16th inch to the seam allowance on each side. And that means for every 8 blocks, I'm 1/2-inch short of where I need to be.
I suffered the consequences in that first project. Since then I have learned to make the block 1/2 larger and trim down when needed.
It would be nice to find tape that was 3/8" wide instead of 1/2".
The second problem with tape was minor with the painter's tape, and a real mess with the Quilter's tape, which has a stronger tack surface.
Tape doesn't want to be removed from the fabric's raw edge. And when it comes to corners, we have too much raw edge trying to stick to the tape. I fussed until I'd forced it off the first corner, but it frayed so bad I had to put that square away to be trimmed down for another project.
Even when I cut the tape short so it wouldn't reach the corner it was a chore getting a good enough hold to pull it up. The square was usable, but stretched and dimpled from me digging my fingers into the threads to get hold of the tape.
The final solution that worked --- and continues to work for me now, is to make the tape a half-inch longer than the diagonal position.
Then fold under about a half inch on each end.
This way it will stick in the center to keep it in place, and it will still lay down flat at the ends as a guide under the presser foot. It just won't STICK on those delicate raw corner threads.
Now that we're all the way down to the bottom line, let me say there is a two-fold advantage to forgetting tape and paying for the rolls of paper that you can pin onto your squares. For one, they don't stick to anything; just pin them in place. And second, you can sew right over the seam line guide without having to stay outside and create a wider seam allowance than you want.
There are sources for paper patterns that you can print as you need, rather than buy rolls and rolls. It's a personal choice to use any form or another.
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