Originally Posted by
Jan in VA
Wendy, can you explain to me in detail how you use these tools?
I mean, are they placed beside the foot as you sew, for instance? Do they move/do you move them around to 'guide the foot/needle/stitching into various shapes? Are different rulers needed for different shapes -- feathers for example? Are they difficult to use with just 2 hands??? I can't figure it out; guess I'll have to go searching for a youtube video.
Thanks,
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...