sara619

Has anyone been using westelee quilt templates to finish there quilts? I am having trouble getting used to them.

SusieQOH

I bought the beginner set or whatever you call it. It has the foot and a few templates. Anyway, there is a learning curve for sure. I've been practicing but certainly have a long way to go.
Angela Walters has a great tutorial on Craftsy. Not sure if it's on Youtube as well.

MadQuilter

Yes, and I love the rulers. My issue is that the needle is not centered in the foot and I have to adjust it. Other than that, it does take practice. Important to put a non-skit material under the rulers so they don't slip while you are moving the sandwich.

Watson

The hardest part for me is to keep the ruler against the foot all the time. I tend to drift off.

It just takes practice.

Watson

Tartan

Which ones? The Spinning Wheel 36 that goes on the tack is fun and easy to use. The others that you have to hold the ruler steady with your Machinger gloves while you hold the foot against the ruler, are a bit trickier. I tried several things under my rulers to help with the slipping and the best thing so far is the rubber shelf liner stuff. Gina Perkes shows using her rulers on YouTube and Thequiltshow and she uses little squares of the shelf liner if you want to see them in action.

rryder

I've used them since they first came out for domestic machines. They're lots of fun. As far as keeping the rulers from slipping on the fabric, I've found that Handigrip made by Handiquilter works best for me. It is clear and has a sandpaper like texture on the bottom so it really holds to the fabric. I've used the shelf liner that gets shipped with the westalee rulers, but it doesn't always grip well enough for me.

Something to remember when using rulers is not to push down on them, if you have a gripping aid like the shelf liner or the Handigrip then all you need to do is hold the ruler with your hand partly on and partly off of it (a finger or two on the fabric and the rest of your hand on the ruler) in order to control the ruler and keep it against the foot. If you have to press down on the ruler to move the fabric then you are more likely to drift off your ruler foot and wear yourself out by tensing up. Also, you will need to stitch a little more slowly when using rulers than you would if doing freehand FMQ.

Rob

rvsfan

Angela Walters has 2 different free series on youtube which are awesome. Covering all aspects of free motion quilting, including lots of ruler quilting. And she is getting ready to start a third. All free. Just do a search for Free-Motion Challenge Quilting Along.

Chris G

I too can not center the needle in the foot properly, and my straight line Juki does not have a needle adjustment. There are now other brands on the market.

rryder

You can use the templates with any ruler foot on the market.

Rob

Suziuki

I am having lots of fun with my Westelee templates for domestic machines. Have just purchased the Feathers set as my free motion feathers are ordinary even with hours of practice and I'm happy to say that I am getting a very professional look. There are plenty of Youtube videos, just put Westelee templates in the Search.