Templates for a long arm
 

Has anyone ever tried things around there house to use a templates when quilting with their long arm??? For example in a nine patch a coffee mug makes a perfect template to quilt a orange peel design in the squares. would it even be safe to try some thing like this???

Why not? I would make a paper pattern using a sheet of paper the size of the block and draw your design. I do it for freemotion quilting, and mark arrows to show the movement of the machine when stitching. That way I know how it is supposed to run when I quilt it.
IT is good to create things that make the project our own, and doesn't it feel nice to save a few pennies over purchased designs?

i would guess as long as it does not fit under the hoping foot it would be safe. I also have wondered the same thing and figured the only up side of the acrylic templates is the markings you could use to do 1/4 or 1/2 inch from seam line or for cross hatching or echos

I'm not sure what you mean.

If you mean use something like a mug, then draw around it for quilting guidelines, then, of course you can. I've done it and it works.

If you are talking about using it as you quilt, then I would say No Way. It would obstruct your view at points in the q uilting. Also, what if you let go accidentally and it broke and maybe made a tear in your quilt ,,, or you made some hesitation in the quilting such that you would frog it out [rip it].

Hope you get the idea here.

ali

I'm with AliKat. I wouldn't use anything that's breakable or can break a needle without it being made especially for the longarm. Remember the longarm's hopping foot goes a million miles a minute and can cause numerous problems....and unless the item is at least 1/4" thick and doesn't block your view or ability to go around it, then it's useless. For doing curves a good source of 1 set of rulers for any size curve is www.handiquilter.com.

I couldn't use a mug or a cup (too tall), but I have used a round cork trivet. It worked good enough that I know I want to get a set of acrylic circles templates. Someone else on the board suggested using household objects before investing a ton of money on templates and rulers. Rolls of masking tape were suggested. The cork trivet worked fine except that it tended to leave tiny shreds of cork on the quilt.