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I found something similar to overhead transparencies (remember those? From before the days of laptops and projectors). They worked great! Easy to cut with an exacto knife, you can see through them (that's what I didn't like about the cardboard option - can't see to position it correctly). Used a pounce to transfer the design - other than a few spots being hard to see, it worked really well.

I'm figuring out that marking a quilt is never going to be quick and easy - but I think I have an option that works pretty well now. Thanks for all the suggestions!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terri Morin (Post 5148093)

Gotta try this!!!! Sounds really cool.

Thanks looks easy

I love all the ideas that have been posted on this topic. Marking & basting my quilt top is me least favorite part of making a quilt.

I print or draw my designs on freezer paper, then cut them out and iron them in place. This way, I am able to sew along the edges and not have to tear things off. When I was learning FMQ, I did this with hearts and other simple designs. Now I do those freehand but use the freezer paper for more complex or unusual designs.

This is exactly what I was looking for in my search!

I had been pondering ideas for making my own stencils. I didn't think of this at all. I was trying to figure out how to use an exacto knife to cut the stencil without making it a nightmare of a mess. Thanks so much for the idea.

If I wanted to use a stencil, but it was a wrong size, I would scan it to the size I needed and then placed the copy on top of numerous cut pieces of artist tracing paper. I then sewed carefully following the lines on my Bernina without any thread. I then pinned the tracing paper and quilted following the dots. I never got a stencil burner to make stencils. Just not worth my time.

Fantastic hint, thanks for sharing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SittingPretty (Post 5141467)

I've heard of using tulle fabric in an embroidery hoop. You mark the design on the tulle with a marker. Then you trace the design through the tulle onto your fabric. You could use a permanent marker on the tulle (NOT ON YOUR QUILT!), if you want to save it, but I guess you could use a washout marker, if you want to use the tulle over again with a different design. As for marking your quilt, some people use the Crayola washable markers. I, too, have found that I have to press harder with the other pencils than the "light touch" in the directions. Otherwise, I like marking with chalk, but it does seem to brush off some.

I am working on a quilt now where I have used this method. In theory it sounds perfect, but I found that the stencil I traced was more difficult to see after each time I used it. Not sure if it is because my fabric is light, and I used white tulle or what, but I had to make 3 stencils (I did trace 50 wreaths!) to mark my quilt. I'll have to experiment more with different color of tulle maybe. When the stencil was fresh, it worked perfectly :-)