Rhonda's Electric Quilt Class - Week 9 - Creating a Stencil
 

This week we are going to use what you learned last week and expand on it. So review last week if you need to.

Here we are going to create a stencil which can be used for a quilt design or embroidery design or an applique design if you prefer.

So in your EQ

1 Click on Worktable
2.Click on Block
3.Click on New Block and slide over to Patch Draw

Now if you are in EQ6 or EQ7
go down to the bottom of your worktable block and click on applique
refer to Week 8 if you need to see how to do this

Once you are in patchdraw
In EQ5 your shapes tools are on the right
In EQ6/ EQ7 your shapes tools are on the left

Here is a quilt design I created so we can look at how to use this feature to make quilt stencils

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so let's start with the how to's

First go to your Block worktable and find the shapes tools
Choose the shape - Heart and click on it
You will need to open the shape menu to get the heart. Refer to Week 8 if you need to see how to do that again.

On your Block find the center dot.
Click on that center dot and hold the mouse down as you drag the heart out to about the fourth dot.

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I added another heart the same way. I clicked on the center dot and drug the heart out to the fourth dot. Continue to do this for the third and fourth heart. This is not hard because the software provides the shape. All you have to do is set it in the pattern.

After the center four hearts are set then I just repeated the same pattern. I clicked on the dot where the center heart stopped and drug the next heart down to the fourth dot from where I started the heart. Repeat this on all 4 hearts and then I added a heart in between on all 4 corners.

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When you look at the whole design it looks complicated but as in making any quilt if you take it one bite at a time just as you do when you sew one block to another it isn't as hard as it looks.

Each heart is made the same way and I made them the same size except for the ones in the corners which I made a little bit bigger to cover the space.

You can use the heart or any other shape and place them in any design you like. You don't have to do the one I am showing you. It is only so you can see how to shape them and place them where you want them. You can go back to week 8 and look at the bezier tool and use it to move your lines and create any picture you want to.

In the geometric shapes you can use the shapes and repeat the same geometric shape to create a stencil to quilt.


Here you can see where I started the heart and where I ended the heart. Click on the first dot and drag the heart to the last dot I circled.

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Next you have to click on Color to make sure all of your lines are connecting.
If you use any free draw you need to make sure your lines connect to dots and lines or they will disappear when you click on color. Or the color won't go where you want it to. This means when you turn it into a stencil the same thing will happen. Lines will disappear if they are not connected right.

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To turn this design into a stencil
Click on File and then click on Print

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Next click on Block
In this window you need to choose the size of quilt block you want to use this for
and you need to choose stencil or applique or
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Now you will see the stencil and can print it and/or save it

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I set the quilt block size for 12" so the program spreads the stencil over 4 sheets
If you set it for 8" it will all be on one sheet. But your stencil will not cover a 12" quilt block
So depending on the size of the quilt block you are going to use this on you can change the size to anything you want.


If you want to use the design for applique you can turn this into templates.
Click on File and Print then click on Templates

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Now click on print to print off the templates

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Click on Print and then you can use the templates to cut out your applique pieces.

If the hearts seem to small to work with you can use them for a larger quilt block like a 24” quilt block or even an 18” quilt block. It is all up to you!!

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Hope this helps but if you have questions as always just let me know. I will be happy to help. Rhonda [email protected]


Here is the PDF file for this week!!

Thank you for all of these great lessons! I've been bookmarking them all. I'm no computer geek and I REALLY appreciate all of your hard work teaching all of us technologically challenged folks how to use this great software!!

Thanks, Rhonda, for another great tut.

Thank You
 

Thank you, Rhonda! I received EQ7 for my birthday so am very eager to put your hard work teaching us to work! I am missing lesson 6, where can I find that lesson to make sure I have them all? Thank you!

I'm looking forward to doing this later today!!

You're welcome everyone. I know there is alot more to doing stencils and motifs and all but I wanted to just do the very basics to start with. This is all new to me too and I am absorbing it right along with you all. As I figure it out I pass it on to you. So the more complex stuff will wait til I have a chance to understand it. There is alot more to Patchdraw than what I have shown so far. I'm having a blast working on all this!

As for finding all the Classes here is the link to the Electric Quilt Section in the Topics List
http://www.quiltingboard.com/tags/electric+quilt.html

templates
 

With this lesson, I remembered a hint from awhile back- use Avery Removable White Full Sheet Labels- to print templates. 10 sheets 81/2 x 11 in each pkg. Print , cut out and stick

Rhonda thanks so much for all these tutuorials, I have them all bookmarked, I so want the EQ. On another note, I don't know how you can bear to put down that beautiful great grandchild long enough to do these tutes! What a little beauty!:)