Skylark53

Thank you all for sharing your wonderful stories! No one in my family were big sewers and my one great aunt that made my baby quilt has long since passed. It's great to get some different perspectives!

Aurora

I found several bags of cardboard templates in a box I purchased at an auction a couple of years ago. I just cannot throw them away. I plan to use them for hand quilting templates when I finally get around to that, or possibly for applique templates.

lclang

Thin cardboard templates, lead pencils to draw carefully around them, good quality scissors, a straight stitch sewing machine, scrap fabric from making clothing for the family and a lot of patience resulted in some very fine quilts.

purplefiend

I cut out my first quilt using scissors. I'd used a cardboard template and a pencil to trace onto my fabrics. That silly cardboard piece got smaller as I went. I still don't know how I managed to put that quilt top together.<sigh>
It was a red,white and turquoise 9-patch, made from weaver's K cloth and an other poly blend red fabric from the remnant pile at House of Fabrics.

illinois

This brings me to ask--why do we discount using polyester fabrics for our quilts? Why do the quilt police "require" only cotton? We like the puff of poly batting. Personally I like the sheen of poly and that it holds color so much better than cotton, especially black!

I have some of my mother's templates that were cut from sandpaper. They held to the fabric better than the cardboard ones that she also had. Some were also cut from the sheets in bacon packages. Waste not, want not!

Bubbie

You spent a LOT of time cutting. You didn't cut more than 2 layers of fabric at a time, because it would shift. Every thing had to be pined. And most of all your cutting hand would start to hurt.

johnette

I used to use templates cut from the plastic lids of cottage cheese or margarine containers. The corners didn't round off after drawing around it 100s of times. Then cut out with scissors, get blisters on my thumb from the scissors and hand piece together. I even did one by hand out of double knit, 2.5 inch scrap squares, hand quilted with poly batting. I still have it and it's still useable. I still have a tub of double knit, but I have doubts that I will ever use it.

AZ Jane

I still have my Mother's template, with all the pencil/pen marks still on it. It was made of glass and is a perfect 6" square!

solstice3

I primarily made costumes for local playhouse back then. I used either electric or regular scissors. My grandmother used cardboard templates, a pencil and scissors. She was a perfectionist that makes my work look like a beginner!

wolph33

I remember tracing with pencil/pen and cutting with scissors-it took forever -I love rotary cutters-I could not work without one any more.