nor'easter

I want to make sixteen 12" 16-patch blocks that I will put on stretcher bars and hang in a four-by-four grid so I can rearrange the position of the individual blocks when I feel like a change. Interactive art, so to speak. They will all be Drunkard's Path variations, mostly in black and white, but a handful will be black, white and red.

I'm okay with the thought that it means 256 curved seams on 3½" squares, but am wondering if anyone knows a way to avoid having to cut every single piece of fabric (all 512 of them) separately with my templates? Will I lose accuracy if I stack the fabric and cut curves? The templates are just template plastic and I've not used that with a rotary cutter before. Do they stand up alright? Any suggestions would be very welcome. TIA :D

bj

I don't actually know the answer to your question, sorry, but am totally intrigued by your concept. Be sure to post pics!

Moonpi

You should be able to get at least 4 layers cut at a time with reasonable accuracy. Do you have a smaller cutter, like a 28mm? That would be a big improvement over the 45mm for curves. Don't rush it.

nor'easter

Yes, Moonpi, I use my 28mm for most of my cutting and always for curves, even freeform. I don't have a 45mm, just the 28mm and a 60mm that I use for fast stuff and multiple layers, kind of like hedge trimmers and pruning clippers. :lol: Thanks. I think I'll try two to four layers and see how they compare to the template to check the accuracy. Even cutting four and checking each one sounds faster than cutting one at a time.

I seldom work on more than one project at a time, but I'm going to do this one for me while I do the optical illusion quilt for my sister because they are both pretty intense and I figure I'll need to "get away" from each of them fairly often!

Thanks again for the help.

euclid

You could check to see if any shop in your area has an Accucut die cutter machine. They have dies for Drunkard's Path blocks. Some shops let their customers use the machine for free; others charge a small fee. If you found one of these the pieces would be very accurate and you can cut about 8 at a time. Your idea is very clever--I hope you'll post some pictures.

nor'easter

Thanks for that suggestion, euclid. I think I'm doing okay with it now. Since cutting full circles and squares is much easier, I'm doing that then cutting smaller quarter circles out of the corners of the larger squares. Then I cut the resulting shape (whatever it's name is) and the full circles in half both ways. Seems to work pretty well and I can get four layers done at a time, giving me sixteen pieces. It's pretty accurate so far. :? So far I've "collected" 42 variations of Drunkard's Path so chosing just 16 may be the hardest part of this project!! :roll:

ksusan

I think that John Flynn's quilt frame business offers a service of laser cutting your fabric. I have used one of John's quilt kits - wheel of mystery- and loved the pieces that were laser cut. They did not ravel as I was working on them!

Good luck on your project. I like your creativity!

Piecefully yours,
Kay Susan