template questions

Hello. Happy Holidays to all!!! I have a few questions... 1. Can anyone tell me the name of the block i used to make my MIL purse? some one asked me and i couldnt find a name off of the place where i found it. the pic is on my pic site below. 2. How many of ya'll actually use templates? and what do you make them out of and where can i get the material? Prayers to all that need them, best wishes throughout the New Year! my house is a mess, covered with toys, how many toys does a 20mo. boy need? thanks to all. happy new year. sewamommy: hazel

Can't help you with the block name. Templates??? (shudder!) If I can't strip piece- or some other quick method- or PFP the block then I just leave it lay and move on. But that's just me.....

Hapy New Year!

Leslie & The Furbabies > Hello. Happy Holidays to all!!! I have a few questions... 1. Can anyone

Sorry, can't help with the block name.

Templates - I made them as part of a lesson when I was doing my sampler quilt at my LQS. They sold template plastic which was a thick clear plastic you could cut with scissors. One side was slightly bobbly so it didn't slip. I haven't used the method since for piecing, only for applique if I am doing the same thing more than once.

I prefer strip piecing or foundation piecing (usually stitch and tear), and if I'm appliquing a one off I use freezer paper.

Hi Hazel You can use freezer paper for a template - you can use, and re-use one piece, many times. If you need something with a little more "substance", I use mylar. You can buy it at any crafts store, and most of the LQS should have it as well. The sizes are varied, and it's clear. You can lay it on top of whatever pattern you want, trace it with a pencil, then cut it out and it will keep for a long time. When you cut out your shape, if you get any little "burrs" on it, you can remove them with an emery board.

Patti in Seattle

I do a lot of piecework, and generally it's rather complex patterns with lots of pieces per block. (I am currently working on a pattern I designed with 72 pieces in each 12" block.) Anyhow, I do all stitching by hand, and use templates. I buy the template plastic sheets with

1/4" grids. Now -- not to call down the quilt police, but rather than do templates > Hello. Happy Holidays to all!!! I have a few questions... 1. Can anyone

I will use templates if the design requires them. I use thinnish card. I save the backing card from pads of writing paper, for instance. One of the most important 'tools' for making a template is a fine, but soft, pencil. I use 'mechanical' pencils. I have a .3, a .5 and a .7 (which is only used for roughing out a design). They are all 2B. The lead of the pencil should be angled slightly *into* the join between the card/plastic and the fabric. This gives you a more exact copy. If I am tracing a design from a book, say, I will transfer it to the card by means of carbon paper!! (Yes, it's OK to say I am quite old-fashioned >gHello. Happy Holidays to all!!! I have a few questions... 1. Can anyone

Don't know what this is called -sort of similar to a Jewel Box, except that it's on a 9-patch grid. Yours is very pretty! I mostly either strip piece or cut to measurements with ruler and rotary cutter. I own a lot of specialty rulers too. But also some very useful templates, including Shar Jorgensen's wedding ring and mariner's compass sets. (These can't be strip pieced.) I have made a few templates, especially odd-size triangles for one-piece scrap quilts, using heavy plastic document covers. Easy to trace the shape with a permanent pen, then cut with an old cutter blade. Make 2-3, layer and stick together with super glue to make a thick template. You need something thick enough that the cutter can't easily ride up over the edge. Roberta in D

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You can get really accurate piecing by leaving the freezer paper templates on until after sewing.

Julia > I also use freezer paper templates. I would trace the block onto the

like i said, im sorry if this shows up more than once, i can not find it posted anywhere.... hi to all...my mother bought me a sewing machine out of fingerhut book, an euro pro i think...i was sewing a denium purse when i was locking the stitch in i heard a pop. i removed the denium; and looked at the needle. ive broke a few before when i was doing a different purse...but it was not the needle, not broke or bent. so i went to re thread the bobbin up to the top and it wouldnt bring the thread up... so i looked at the bobbin case and everything..i hand turned it and the needle wouldnt go down far enough to catch the thread. have i explained it clearly? is there anything i can do or do i have to take it to a repair man? i dont know if she has a warranty or not. what should i do...thanks for any info ya'll can give me. like i said sorry if it post multiple times. but i can not find the post when i summit it... sewamommy:hazel

sewamommy wrote:

It sounds like you've pushed the needle bar up into the machine just enough so the needle won't reach the hook. I've never had to adjust the needle bar in my home sewing machine so I wouldn't know whether it's something an amateur should attempt. If it were me, I'd call a repair shop. :o)

I've got a Euro Pro myself. I've even had a similar situation. First, that pop means the needle probably hit something, usually because the fabric didn't move through the machine quite right. Sometimes a machine's feed dogs will bind up a little when sewing thicker materials like denim and the material will shift slightly at just the wrong moment bending the needle slightly in the process. Change the needle, even if it looks fine it could be bent and a bent needle will not work. Next remove your bobbin case and look around in the machine for any possible thread bits. Remove bobbin from bobbin case, look for any burrs on the case. Re-thread bobbin into bobbin case and re-install into the machine. Re-thread the top thread and see if machine sews nicely. Debra in VA See my quilts at