When i first designed a quilt for which piecing was necessary using templates, i made them in hard cardboard. This works fine if you only need to cut 10-15 shapes. But if you need to have a big amount of units, the cardboard is not the best solution as it gets damaged very soon.
So i came up with the idea of making my own acrylic templates. Of course you can order them but they are so expensive, and normally we only use one time the templates, mostly when it is not a standard size/shape.
These are the materials we’re going to need:
Acrylic sheet. You may find this in any copy shop or stationery shop. They are used to spiral binding. Choose the thickest they have, 2 mm aprox.
Normal cutter: a Stanley cutter or utility cutter.
Permanent pen. Try to find the thinest possible, so the lines will be more accurate when trimming
Sticky tape
Metallic ruler. I use a ruler that has rubber feets that avoid it from moving while you are cutting.
The template printed onto normal paper
First, we stick the template to the back of the acrylic sheet using the sticky tape. The drawing of the template should face the plexi sheet.
Then, using the pen, we draw the registration dashed lines. We will use this lines to center the template onto the unit, so we have a perfect cut. Do not forget to write the name/size or any other reference onto the template, so you can identify it quickly.
We cut out the template along the border line using the metallic ruler and the normal cutter. Now you can use it!
I have many of these templates. I use them directly onto the fabric and cut with the rotary cutter using the template as a guide. And it works super well!! And the most important thing: i save a lot of bucks…
Hi all! With this tutorial you might learn new tips to sew curved pieces. I have made this tutorial for my Chromosome Quilt, but you can use it for any other project. You may find how to sew half circle to rectangle. Let’s start!!! Begin by starching your fabric. As you will be sewing a …
Hi all! With this tutorial you might learn new tips to sew curved pieces. I have made this tutorial for my Stained Glass Quilt, but you can use it for any other project. You may find how to sew a circle to square. Let’s start!!! Begin by starching your fabric. Cut the paper templates and …
Sewing an oven mitt has been my first sewing project. When I started sewing eight months ago, before I started making quilts, I made small crafts, like this one that I will explain to you how to do. The good thing about making your own oven mitts is that you can customize them so that, …
Step 13. Repeat the whole process using C, D, E, etc. as shown in the gallery below. It is the same process as before. The bigger the circle, the easier to sew.
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HOW TO MAKE HOME MADE ACRYLIC TEMPLATES
Hi all!
When i first designed a quilt for which piecing was necessary using templates, i made them in hard cardboard. This works fine if you only need to cut 10-15 shapes. But if you need to have a big amount of units, the cardboard is not the best solution as it gets damaged very soon.
So i came up with the idea of making my own acrylic templates. Of course you can order them but they are so expensive, and normally we only use one time the templates, mostly when it is not a standard size/shape.
These are the materials we’re going to need:
First, we stick the template to the back of the acrylic sheet using the sticky tape. The drawing of the template should face the plexi sheet.
Then, using the pen, we draw the registration dashed lines. We will use this lines to center the template onto the unit, so we have a perfect cut. Do not forget to write the name/size or any other reference onto the template, so you can identify it quickly.
We cut out the template along the border line using the metallic ruler and the normal cutter. Now you can use it!
I have many of these templates. I use them directly onto the fabric and cut with the rotary cutter using the template as a guide. And it works super well!! And the most important thing: i save a lot of bucks…
See you on my next tutorial!!!
4 replies to “HOW TO MAKE HOME MADE ACRYLIC TEMPLATES”
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Jeanette McClintick
What do you mean by a “normal cutter”? A utility knife, a tile knife? Surely not a rotary cutter.
Augusto
Hi Jeanette. Yes, I mean a Stanley knife or utility knife.
Heather Graham
Thank you so, so much for this! I have been trying to figure it out!! 👏 BRAVO!!
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