How to Stencil Quilting Patterns
Commercial quilt stencils are thin and flexible sheets of plastic that have quilting patterns cut into them. These stencils have shortened considerably the time it takes to mark a quilt top. Instead of relying on imperfect copies of magazine pages or working from memory of a quilt once seen, quilters can perfectly recreate a favorite quilting pattern with expert results every time. Stenciling the pattern is now the work of one person, and can be finished in less than an afternoon.
Instructions
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Measure your quilt top before purchasing your stencils. Each stencil is made to fit a certain size of quilt block or border. Make sure that you purchase the correct size stencils for your quilt.
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Begin at the center of your quilt top, after the top has been basted with the backing and batting. Lay your block stencil in the center of one of the middle blocks in your quilt. Make sure that the stencil is centered in your block or set of blocks, with the same amount of outside edge all around.
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Use a quilt marking pencil to draw the stencil design onto the quilt top. Hold the stencil down firmly on the quilt top with one hand. Trace the design by drawing on the quilt top through the lines cut into the stencil plastic. Make sure that you draw into every line in the pattern.
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Remove the stencil carefully without smudging the pencil lines. Place the stencil down on another quilt block and mark the pattern in the same way as above.
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Continue marking quilt blocks with the stencil pattern. Always mark the pattern onto blocks that are farther and farther away from the center of the quilt, ending up with stenciling the border. This will minimize the chance that you will lean or rub on blocks that you already marked when stenciling a block.
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Tips & Warnings
Always test quilt marking materials on an inconspicuous corner of the quilt to make sure that the marking material is removable.
References
- Photo Credit quilts image by Christopher Martin from Fotolia.com
