Templates & Rulers Mini-Wholecloth
#24
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Piedmont Virginia in the Foothills of the Blue Ridge Mtns.
Posts: 8,562
Thank you, thank you, Wendy!! Just what I needed, and the links, too. I'm really inspired to try these; wish someone I knew had a set I could try first, as all expenditures are deeply thought out in my house. I appreciate your prompt and thorough response!
Jan in VA
Jan in VA
Sure, Jan. There are a LOT of various methods and types of rulers and templates for use with domestic machines. The particular ones I am using are by Westalee Designs out of Australia and branded and sold in the US by Sew Steady. (Can I just say, I think the design concept for these templates is pretty brilliant!) On this little piece I used the straight ruler, one of the Spin-E-Fex templates, and a feather template. Each of them is used in a slightly different manner, but the basic concept is the same:
The ruler or template is placed on the quilt sandwich and you hold it in place as you move the quilt through the machine with the foot against the side of the template to guide you. It's a little tricky to get the hang of it at first, but not nearly as difficult as it sounds. The ruler and templates all have guidelines etched into them to aid in placement, and they come with little gripper strips that adhere to the back to make it easier to hold them in place as you stitch. The Spin-E-Fex templates actually rotate on a thumb tack that you insert through the quilt sandwich from the back to keep them in place as well. The Spin-E-Fex templates are really fun to use; kind of like a Spirograph! And you can get beautifully consistent designs with them. That is what I used in the center of this piece. The most versatile ruler is the straight/arc ruler, straight on one side and an arc on the other. The design possibilities seem endless with that one! Most other templates are each for more specific designs, but there are various sizes of arc, circles, etc. that you can get very creative with as well.
Here's a video from Westalee on using some of the templates from their Sampler Set: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glcQi_d7khs
And here's one on using their feather templates: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m91jIlpI4c
I think these rulers and templates are a great confidence/skill building tool for domestic machine quilters! I taught a class a couple of months ago and had a couple of ladies attend who had done almost no free motion quilting, as well as several who had been struggling with their free motion work. They all were able to learn to use these templates pretty successfully, and the true beginners did just as well as those who had some experience.
Wendy
P.S. To mamajack3, I'm pretty sure Craftsy does offer a online class on using rulers and templates on domestic machines...
The ruler or template is placed on the quilt sandwich and you hold it in place as you move the quilt through the machine with the foot against the side of the template to guide you. It's a little tricky to get the hang of it at first, but not nearly as difficult as it sounds. The ruler and templates all have guidelines etched into them to aid in placement, and they come with little gripper strips that adhere to the back to make it easier to hold them in place as you stitch. The Spin-E-Fex templates actually rotate on a thumb tack that you insert through the quilt sandwich from the back to keep them in place as well. The Spin-E-Fex templates are really fun to use; kind of like a Spirograph! And you can get beautifully consistent designs with them. That is what I used in the center of this piece. The most versatile ruler is the straight/arc ruler, straight on one side and an arc on the other. The design possibilities seem endless with that one! Most other templates are each for more specific designs, but there are various sizes of arc, circles, etc. that you can get very creative with as well.
Here's a video from Westalee on using some of the templates from their Sampler Set: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glcQi_d7khs
And here's one on using their feather templates: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m91jIlpI4c
I think these rulers and templates are a great confidence/skill building tool for domestic machine quilters! I taught a class a couple of months ago and had a couple of ladies attend who had done almost no free motion quilting, as well as several who had been struggling with their free motion work. They all were able to learn to use these templates pretty successfully, and the true beginners did just as well as those who had some experience.
Wendy
P.S. To mamajack3, I'm pretty sure Craftsy does offer a online class on using rulers and templates on domestic machines...
#27
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Va.
Posts: 5,753
Jan, if you are near Richmond, Va. I would be happy to let you try using my rulers. Just send me a pm and we can see up a time to get together.
On the other hand, if you are closer to Lynchburg you might want to contact Amy Johnson, her blog is amysquiltingadventures. She's the person who teaches the two Craftsy classes on doing ruler work on a domestic machine and if I'm not mistaken she owns a quilting/ domestic sewing machine shop in Lynchburg. she might have a machine set up with a ruler foot for at the shop that you could try. At any rate look up her youtube views deos. Also look up Patsy Thompson- she has recently been putting up YouTube videos doing ruler work with her sit down machine.
Rob
On the other hand, if you are closer to Lynchburg you might want to contact Amy Johnson, her blog is amysquiltingadventures. She's the person who teaches the two Craftsy classes on doing ruler work on a domestic machine and if I'm not mistaken she owns a quilting/ domestic sewing machine shop in Lynchburg. she might have a machine set up with a ruler foot for at the shop that you could try. At any rate look up her youtube views deos. Also look up Patsy Thompson- she has recently been putting up YouTube videos doing ruler work with her sit down machine.
Rob
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