Marking a Quilt Design as an Overall Design
 

I need a bit of help here. I was originally going to quilt my En Provonce MQ with just a simple meander quilting, but yesterday I was browsing though my book of quilting designs and a lovely vine and flower design jumped out at me and asked to be used instead. I can't seem to get the idea out of my head, so I guess its there to stay until I quilt it!

My problems: I want to do it from end to end like how a longarmer quilter would use a pantograph but I only have a domestic sewing machine. Any suggestions on how to transfer the design from the book onto the quilt? I do have the crayola ultra-washable markers, so should I make a stencil somehow and draw it on? If so, any ideas where to buy good quality template plastic? My fabric is too dark to simply trace the design on. I tried tear away paper on a sample, but it was a pain to tear away between all the tiny stems and leaves, so I can't imagine doing that over an entire quilt! I also tried the old fashioned cinnamon pounce method, but it won't work for machine quilting.

I have had this question going through my mind for the past day and would love any ideas and tips! Thanks, friends!

Copy your pattern on your printer to something, such as Golden Threads paper. Repeat and pin the paper onto your quilt.
Or, You can print your design out and then freehand draw it with a chalk pen. I did this for a Christmas design and it worked just great.

You can use seamstress transfer paper to trace the design onto the fabric. It comes in white too.

I go to the Office supply store and purchase rolls of drafting paper to draw my designs on. This paper has a vellum feel. It tears off quite easily. I pin the strips on (usually one row at a time) and it functions like a pantograph. I clean up the final bits of paper debris off with one of those sticks lint rollers.

Try drawing a section of your quilting pattern on to some tracing paper or similar product. Then take it to the sewing machine and using a large needle and a long stitch length sew along the drawn lines. This will make a template. Then take the template you have made and use pounce powder to transfer the design to your quilt. Repeat placement of the design as needed. Then sew on the lines. Vola!

I forgot to mention, that when making the template you do not have any thread in the machine.

I have made a couple templates using this method.

I am a big marker but the way you describe the design I bet if you practice enough you may be able to do it free hand without marking the entire design but simply mark your quilt with a grid to keep the scale and placement. Or perhaps just mark the flowers and connect them with the freeform vine and leaf. You may even be able to use the piecing as your point of reference with no marking at all. If I were you I would get some big pads of cheap newsprint paper or a whiteboard and dry erase markers and practice drawing your motif over and over again, meandering all over the surface so you memorize how to keep the design continuous without quilting yourself into a corner. Repetitive drawing of a quilting pattern really helps me a lot when attempting a new quilting design.

Edited to add, if you decide to just mark one element of your design (say the flower) I have made marking templates out of watercolor paper, it is heavy, like card stock but can be cut easily with scissors. I simply place it on my quilt top where I want it and trace around it. I have found on multi colored quilts I have the best luck with chalk. If the design goes over a light fabric and I can't see the chalk I will go over that part only with a blue water soluble marker. But chalk is tough when quilting on a domestic as it can rub off with all the handling. You can go around the cardstock with a crayola washable marker too but you just need to find a color you can see on all the different fabrics.

Check out u-tube for a tutorial on using bridle netting to make a stencil. You transfer your design onto the netting and then using the netting as a stencil you transfer the design onto the quilt. The stencil can be re-used.