I spent all day with the April 15th block I did three versions of the Tulip block. Tho to tell you the truth it sort of reminds me of spotted nap-weed. :wink:

Just remember to tape around your templates the tape will help keep it firm and last longer.

how do I cut out plastic templates to mark my quilt for a quilting pattern? after I trace my patter on the plastic, I have a difficult time cutting out the slot for my marker to go through for marking?

What type of plastic and which tools do you have? For light weight stencil plastic an exacto-blade should be up to the job. I Have some heavier plastic that I have not yet tried cutting, but I'm guessing a utility knife will work on it. Tho slots seem a little too much for this type of tool. I planned to use my dremel with a small cutting bit. Then a light sanding if needed. Maybe I'll try experimenting with that this weekend and then post my findings. If you have any type of drill handy I'm sure you could buy a bit that would do the job. Tho for the thinner more flexible plastic a drill would be too much. Exacto blades are pretty cheap. I often see them at the dollar store for about a buck. Same for the utility knives.

For the plastic, to cut a slot I would use a straight edge and mark two parallel lines. Make the first one a scant margin out from where you want the actual inner cutting line to be. Try for the 2nd line at 1/16th" to no more than 1/8th" out from the 1st line. Use your straight edge as a guide to keep your cuts straight then it should be fairly easy to cut the inner strip out at ea. end with the tip of your blade. Remember with light weight flexible plastic leave an outer margin wide enough to minimize curling of the outer edge. 1/2" at least would be my guess. It might take some practice and experimentation to get perfection. For curved lines or slots If you can find something to use as a guide while cutting with the blade (can lid, wooden cut out,..etc.) a rigid cutting guide really gives a smoother cut. Which is why you are messing with the plastic to make rigid cutting guides for your fabric in the first place! :lol: Right? let me know how it goes! I'd love to know if any of this advice helps you at all. :lol: :lol: :lol: :?:

I have had plexiglass cut for my table tops and dresser tops at Home Depot to specific sizes. They never charged me for cutting them. One word of warning though, their cutting is not always as exact as you would need for quilting so make sure you measure exactly what they cut in case you need to cut/shave/sand some off.

For accuracy and speed see the laser cut template "from Marti Michell" at www.frommarti.com.

For slipping ulers, you can buy little silicone dots to stick on the ruler. OR, if you have a handyman in the house that may have a tube of silicone caulking laying around, just squeeze a tiny bit out of the tube in a cuple of spots on the ruler and let it dry.

I use a heavier plastic, that I buy at Hobby Lobby.

So,I won't cut my finger I wear a Teflon glove that is madeto clean fish. You can get them in the sporting good dept. at Wal-Mart, etc.
I used to have problems with my rulers moving around till I purchased a handle that has sucking cups that attaches the handed to the ruler, then you just push down and it doesn't move. I got mine at Harbor Freight for about $5. I think you can get them at bath stores also. They are used to get in and out of the tubs.