Quilt in a Day Forums

years ago I told someone that I'd love to machine quilt, but hate to mark fabric. What someone needs to invent, I said, is a tear-away paper that sticks to the fabric, in squares or strips for borders, that is marked with whatever quilting pattern you like. Well, I don't know if that's ever been invented, but today I had an idea of how to do this myself. I bought some stencils and some tear away fabric. I bet I probably could have used freezer paper, but too late now. I'm going to mark the paper with one of these stencils, or maybe more than 1, then I'm going to pin it well, to my borders.
The inside of the quilt is a crazy quilt, so I may stitch in the ditch around the small squares. I may even use some of those hundreds of machine embroidery stitches my machine has, for those. I can't wait to get to the borders, though and I'm just going to stitch right through the paper. Then I'm going to pull all that paper off and hope to heck it was worth the trouble.
Probably water soluble sheets would work, but be too expensive.
What do you think? Doesn't this sound like something that would work? I'd have a lot more courage if I were stitching a marked pattern than trying to do that freehand stuff.

I've used this method for years, but with golden threads paper that you can purchase for this purpose. It comes on a roll. You trace your stencil onto it, pin it in place, sew through the paper on the drawn lines, then tear the paper off.
Joan

I use stencils and a chalk pounce. Then a light spray of hairspray keeps the markings in place until I quilt it. I learned this from a lady at Road to CA selling stencils. It works really well. Lori

I like srencils with the water erasable markers. I am a hand quilter and have to have my quilt marked for awhile. Just keep the quilt out of the sunlight until you wash the marks off.

I think there is an adhesive stencil paper now. though I've neveer used it. Before my DH took over our quilting, I used Golden Threads tissue paper a lot. I cut a piece as long as my quilt was wide and traced one section of the pattern on the paper, then fan-folded it several times so it came out evenly. Then I stitched it on my Bernina with no thread in the needle. This perferates the design all the way through. I unfolded it and pinned it onto my quilt and quilted following the perferations. If it doesn't tear away easily, wet it with a spray bottle.

That is a good idea im gonna have to order some thanks for a good sugestion.

Lois

I use Mainelyme method also, trace on paper, trace some in advance and goes in drawer.. I even used the tissue paper from sewing patterns no longer wanted. Stencils find I can't get my pencil to work in the groove keeps breaking lead.

Mainley Me that is the system I use the least expensive thing for me to use..

I use the same system as Mainleyme.....trace the stencil on Golden Threads paper, pin to the quilt. The one added thing I do to make it easier to tear off, is to trace my stitching with my pointed metal bodkin and that breaks the tissue bridges between the stitches making it much easier to pull the paper off.

I also use the long flat head pins with those small round sponge things on the ends, then I don't get constantly stabbed by pins. Just remove them as I sew.

**Linda