WOW!!!! thanks to you all for all the great ideas. I guess I need to try all of them and figure out which one will I like the best. You guys are so helpfull. :)

Just wanted to say thanks for the tip on using netting to mark a motif on quilt top. I used tuile and it worked like a charm.! So much easier than making a template. Such great tips on this site.

glad to be of help!

Anita

you can also use an electric stencil cutter on the template plastic to cut out the small lines of your design. I bought mine at Joann Fabrics. It's made by Plaid and I found it in the paint craft section. It's fast. The only thing you need to remember is use a piece of wood under it to keep form burning the surface. The instruction are on the back. Just remember to leave a few little sections so that your pattern stays in tack. The clear stencil plastic lets you really get creative with about any design you like. If you have a printer you can make your design and inlarge or reduce it to any size that will work for your quilt and quickly tranfer that design with permanent mark to plastic and than just cut with electric cutter. Have fun

what a brilliant Idea. Netting is much cheaper than stencil plastic as well. :wink:

Hello all... Well I tried the netting and it works great!!!! WalMart had it for 57 cents a yard (so of course I bought a bunch of it!). I marked what I could then rebasted my quilt.... I like this cause now on the parts that I did not mark before basting it, I can use the nettting and mark as I go. On the dark colors I use my left over soap bars (the ones that are skinny, that way I can see, since I am so color vision). Anita, thanks again for this great idea.... :P

Joanie and Susan,

So glad it worked for you, Joanie!

And Susan, the stuff if so close to indestructible if you handle it halfway decently. Just don't let the cat play with it... I had a full border that the cat decided to play with. You can use it over and over and over... and if you don't have any tulle for a new one use a stencil you already have, copy the new stencil with a different color Sharpie, and you have 2 stencils in the same space... You could, conceivably, have probably 8 (I think that is the number of colors Sharpies come in) on one piece of tulle.

Anita

You can use stencil sheets and trace the design on them with a sharpie marker then run them through your sewing machine on the lines with a denim size needle with no thread. This makes holes that you can then rub the powder stencil marker over. The powder only goes through the holes.
You then have a dotted line to follow. Also I have found that in the gadget dept of a chain store the flexible cutting boards are larger than the stencil sheets and cost less. Usually 3 to a pak. for about $2.50. I also want to try the tulle idea. Sounds good.

MarilynG ... which store is that?

Wally World (WalMart)