Tracing Paper
 

I have 2 original designs I want to turn into quilts, but I'd really like to make sure they'll work on a larger scale. I'm thinking tracing paper would work the best for this purpose.

Does anyone have any suggestions of what to look for? Grids? Sheets or rolls? Shade of white or ivory? Anything else?

If you use tracing paper for design work, what are your favorite features about your preferred brand/style? Thanks in advance for any help. I've been working out a lot with actual fabric/muslin and was thinking this might help save some time.

To scale my original designs I use graph paper so I can get the size/ frame what I want. Then I can assign square size and determine pieces, yardage etc. I use tracing paper to copy/ trace appliqués for a master copy sometimes.

Not 100% sure I understand how you are going to use the tracing paper. You imply that instead of fabric/muslin you are going to use tracing paper? Are you thinking of actually constructing a block with it?

I too am not sure of your question.

I just saw this at my Bee yesterday from another member. For enlarging a pattern, she scanned and put it in "Paint" on her computer. She printed out on 8 1/2 x 11 and taped them together. Then traced onto wide freezer paper paper for a complete pattern.

Not really sure what you are asking. Need to know something about the design. Is it patchwork, or appliqué some more info. Paper piecing etc.....can't give good suggestions not knowing more.o

But to answer your question in the last paragraph. My favorite graft paper is Clearprint brand 42" wide and I buy it in 20 yd rolls. gridded in 1" and 1/4" grids. Depends on the precision you need.

I use tracing paper often for designing quilting motifs (the actual quilting part, not the piecing part), especially when the design repeats, mirrors, flips, etc like in Karen McTavish's "Elemental Quilting" technique. I have also used tracing paper for applique designs that would do the same thing (flip, turn, mirror the same "element" multiple times) or if I want perfect symmetry like a flower that is perfectly symmetrical I will draw half of the design then mirror it by tracing the reverse side of my "element".
When I want to see either full size or with all the repeats, I will draw the element full size as well as the finished shape the element is going to be filling up.
Assume I have a 6" applique element that will fill a 12" block and the applique is the same element repeated and turned 4 times and meets in the middle. I will draw my 12" square which is the shape I am filling. Then subdivide it into the 4 6" squares on my full size tracing paper. Then I will retrace my fraction of the design (the element) in each square turning it or flipping it as needed and retrace onto my master to visualize what the whole design will look like full size and also have a template for transferring the design onto my base fabric. I hope this makes sense.
For tracing paper, I use whatever brand is available but do try to get some larger size pads so I don't have to tape pages together to get full size. Like PP and Tessagin I'm not entirely clear what you are asking, just offering up the ways I use tracing paper in quilting and applique.

Sorry for the confusion. I would usually take the time & money to make a muslin sample -- going through several iterations with sewing & everything. But my guild is very short on entries for our biannual show, so I thought by going with a full-sized tracing paper template I could work out any problems I have with making it full-sized without having to cut & re-cut my work.
I still plan to make my actual quilt out of standard quilter's cotton fabric. :thumbup:

Bree. I would like to help you but it is difficult not knowing what you are trying to do. Is that the two designs are"original" the reason you are not giving more information. It appears everyone is trying to guess what you are doing And trying to give some information which may or not be helpful.

Quilt30,
I normally am very protective of my IP, but with this going into my guild show (where there are no measures whatsoever taken to protect copyrights) I'll probably just add it to GNU as copyleft. But right now it's still in progress & I'm not comfortable sharing designs I'm still working on. I think I'm going to try to do my Art Deco-inspired design. It's sort of like a cathedral window design. The colored parts will be mostly quilted with filler -- but I'm thinking about adding motifs in some of them. It's just applique & quilting (I detest piecing work).

I'm just not good enough to be able to visualize how something small will look on a larger scale. So I'm trying to figure out whether (1) graph tracing paper would be more helpful because it would give me landmarks to ensure consistency in my design's shapes & sizes or whether it would be more confusing with all the extra lines possibly distracting from the design, (2) if there is any benefit to using a color other than white, (3) if a certain weight of vellum is too thin & prone to tearing or too thick & difficult to see through, (4) if rolls are better than sheets. I saw an online teacher who designed with tracing paper & thought I'd give it a try; I had no idea there were so many different kinds of tracing paper out there.

Bree there is old-fashioned tracing paper called Saral. it comes in several colors in the pack which might help you in designing your block. Saral is usually carried at quilt shops.

Saral is not tracing paper it is a transfer paper. Like old fashioned carbon paper but safe to use on fabric because it washes out and is wax free. I have only used the graphite and the white and have had good luck with it.

Hmm, unless I'm mistaken, it sounds like your designs currently exist in a smaller or thumbnail-sketch form* — which would mean you might not need tracing paper. Simply enlarging your designs to a 1:1 scale wouldn't require tracing.

That said, I've found that I prefer lighter-weight tracing paper over medium weight. The heavier weights tend to have a toothier texture which doesn't help keep pencil lines sharp and smudge free. Also, if you're using a lot, a roll will give you better value than a pad of individual sheets. I've used Bee Paper (available on Amazon), and I know that some people even order those rolls of paper used in the doctor's office on the exam tables.

* If your designs are digital, then my suggestion is to make an actual-size mock. Scale them up on the computer until they are 1:1 scale (actual size), and then print the design at 100%, tiled across as many pages as you need. Some printers or programs allow you to customize how much overlap you need across each sheet of paper; this is a helpful feature because most printers can't print full bleed (edge-to-edge). Once printed, you just cut off the white margins (where the printer was unable to print), and then use the overlap to match everything together.

Years ago I used an opak projector from hobby lobby to enlarge designs.

If you just want to see it in a bigger size, then take your original to an Office supply, like Staples or Office Depot and ask them to enlarge it to the 24x36 inch size. I think that's the biggest paper they have. The last time I did this was a couple of years ago, and it costs about 3 dollars. Probably more now.