Quilt in a Day Forums

I bought a stencil that doesn't have continuous lines. I've figured out how to trace the stencil on my material but wasn't sure if I was supposed to connect all the broken lines or just keep stopping and starting my quilting. I'm going to be doing this all by hand.

You just keep going and connect the lines to make the complete design. The places that aren't cut out are just to hold it all together.
Joan

I was wondering the same thing as I am a new hand quilter too. What did you use to Mark your quilt with?

Exactly what Joan said - if the pattern was continuous the plastic template would fall apart. So continue the lines. I use various products - Frixion pens, and Pounce mostly. Keeping in mind that you don't actually 'pounce' the powder on, but rub it gently across the template. There are other water soluable markers you can use, too.

I'm also using a stencil; a Christmas tree design with rounded-loopy boughs. I'm hoping to quilt it using my machine but have not found a way to quilt the rounded parts without it looking jagged and squared off. I've also tried hand quilting on a sample piece of fabric but the design doesn't seem to come out as clearly defined as with the machine stitching at 2.5-3.0 stitches. I've used Pounce to mark the stencil.
Does anyone have a suggestions.