Tips
for Using your No-Frills™
Rulers & Templates!
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To go to a picture and some diagrams,
click on the highlighted name of the ruler!
This page is a list of text
suggestions and tips on how to get the most from
your templates/rulers.
Marking your templates
-
Use a sharp object like a metal
compass and a ruler to score a line on your acrylic template where you would
like a line to be.
-
Use a 'dremel' tool to score your
lines
-
A linoleum scorer is the absolute
best way to mark the templates. The mark looks exactly like a laser
etched line. The
creator of Omnigrid rulers showed me how to do it and all my templates are
marked in this manner - from Heather
-
Use a permanent marker to draw
your line
-
Use
masking tape/painters tape to temporarily mark your template to suit the
current quilt. Write notes on this and then it is easily removed until next
time.
Circles
-
Use a circle to create the 'spine'
of a feather wreath. The eye is drawn to the perfectly stitched circle and
then you can freehand feather/leaves around it.
-
Using masking tape you can mark a
'section' of a curve to repeat in a border/sashing to create a wavy spine
for freehand feathers/leaves
-
Using the same as above, use the
curve to create scallops on your border to freehand.
-
Remember your spirograph?? Use a
circle on a circle and create some wonderful overlapping circle designs
Ovals
- An oval in the centre of a medallion is great. Freehand feathers/leaves
around it and fill in with crosshatching or tiny stippling.
- Use masking tape again for a shallower curve on the long edge of the oval
for longer arcs of a scallop edge or wave etc.
- The small end of the ovals are often perfect to create the right corner
design in your border.
- Use the smaller ends to create a different shell effect in a border
Baptist Fan templates
Hearts
- Naturally hearts are a great base to freehand feathers/leaves around.
- Use the 'bumps' on top to create a shell pattern
- Use the V on the bottoms to get a different crosshatch diamond design in a
sashing or small block
- Lay the heart on it's side and you will get an interesting 'wave' like
(half a heart) design which looks great repeated in a sashing or small
border. Use the largest heart on its side in a wider border to create the
wave and then freehand feather around it WOW !!
Tri-ruler
- Great for crosshatching a perfect 45° grid on a block. Line the ruler up
with the edges of the block and the long side will be the perfect angle.
- Use for crosshatching in a border. Line the long edge up with the border
seam and stitch along the 2 shorter sides of the triangle.
- Creates greater stability as more to hold on to when stitching diagonal
lines
Appliqué & Ditch guide
- Place your foot in the 'hole' section and you now have greater control on
all sides of your machine foot for slow ditching around appliqué work.
- Use the long side of the ruler for all 1/4" outlining in any
direction. Small easy to manipulate ruler, very versatile.
Serpentine Rulers
- Create a perfect spine for a freehand feather/leaves vine on a border or
sashing. Even better is to create a second spine only 1/4" from the
first to make it really spectacular!
- This ruler will allow you to turn a corner perfectly. Use the ruler to
DRAW your corner in first, then use it to guide your foot around. Due to the
differences in machine feet this ruler was designed so that the 'drawing' of
the spine would be consistent & perfect and then we can all learn to
adjust the stitching to suit our particular machines. Just stitch on the
drawn line with the ruler the appropriate distance from the drawn line. Then
move your ruler to allow you to continue stitching on this line around the
corner.
- Ribbon designs can be done easily by stitching the first Serpentine curve
then moving your ruler one way by only 1/2"-1" and repeating the
curves overlapping the first. This creates a lovely ribbon effect in any
area. Use the ruler to go around a corner as well for this design!
Continuous Curve Rulers
- To create the perfect curve on a block that only extends 1/4" from
the seam line in the centre of that block is made easy with these rulers. Practice
first to learn where to place the ruler depending on the size of your
machine's foot. Easy to flip when you require the reverse curve!
- Also simple to create tiny scallops in a 1" border or sashing.
- Longer slim line scallops are great for freehand feathers/leaves
Patterns using a
combination of rulers by satisfied customers! Please click on the highlighted
word to go to more designs!
To see the full range of templates available visit the Rulers
page
©Constantine Quilts 2000-2008
No part of these pages may be reproduced in any form
without written permission from the author.
Last updated
03 November, 2007
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