Inklingo for Templates

When I wrote about fussy cutting hexagons for QuiltingHub recently, I realized that some quilters are not familiar with using Inklingo to make templates!

How ironic . . .

Quilted Diamonds

. . . especially considering that using templates was the technique I taught from 2000 to 2006 from my Quilted Diamonds books—and templates were the inspiration for Inklingo!

If I had not been teaching—and seeing first hand the problems quilters had with using templates—I would not have been inspired to find a faster, more accurate method of preparing shapes for hand and machine piecing.

Inklingo might not have been born!

 

Print shapes on fabric with Inklingo

My first choice is always to print the shapes on fabric with Inklingo. It is faster, easier and more accurate than using any kind of template.

Inklingo quilters spend more time sewing and less time getting ready to sew—and get better results!

WHY TEMPLATES?

There are some situations when templates make sense.

  • Fussy cutting when you don’t have enough fabric to print identical sheets for No Waste Fussy Cutting.
  • Using tiny scraps or pre-cut strips, too small even for the tips in the Top Ten Tutes.
  • Cutting huge shapes that are too big for your printer.
  • Using fabrics which are too dark on the wrong side to print easily even with the tips for dark fabric in Top Ten Tutes.

 

Inklingo shapes with and without seam allowances

I include the shapes WITHOUT seam allowances in Inklingo shape collections for situations like these.

 

Freezer paper for templates

WHY WE PREFER FREEZER PAPER FOR TEMPLATES

My favorite template material is freezer paper. It gives better results and it makes quilting accessible to more people.

All you need is a roll of freezer paper from the grocery store, a mechanical pencil, an acrylic ruler (any kind), and a small, flexible plastic ruler. The markings on the two rulers are not important because we only use them as a straight edge. No measuring, so nothing special to buy. Use what you already have.

1. Freezer paper is inexpensive and readily available—no waiting for delivery or paying for shipping.
Even if you do have to order FP online, you get a lot of FP for your shipping dollar, so you can always have it on hand.

Inklingo shapes with and without seam allowances

2. Freezer paper is easy to print with any ordinary Inkjet printer, so it works perfectly for  ANY shape you can print or draw and you can print as many as you need quickly. Freezer paper is versatile because it is easy to customize or cut partial shapes too.

3. Freezer paper templates are ideal for rotary cutting several layers at a time OR for scissors cutting, and there is no need to mark the cutting line on the fabric.

4. Freezer paper templates printed with Inklingo have matching marks on the seam lines, which is a big help when you are pinning and sewing.

Inklingo shapes with and without seam allowances

5. You can write on the FP to note which fabric to use, or the grain line, or number the pieces for sewing sequence or to avoid turning a piece the wrong way. Customize your templates in any way you like. A few notes are worthwhile especially because FP templates can be used over and over again.

6. Freezer paper templates are easy to store and re-use. They take up less room than acrylic or other templates and they are unbreakable!

Inklingo shapes with and without seam allowances

7. Freezer paper templates stay in position—no slipping and sliding—because we iron the plastic coated side to the wrong side of the fabric to create a temporary bond. If you don’t have an iron handy (preferred) you can tack freezer paper templates into position with a tiny dab of glue-stick instead of pins.

8. If you lose your freezer paper templates it is easy to make more instantly. No big investment, no frustration.

9. When you print freezer paper templates with Inklingo shape collections you also have instructions and yardage requirements. Some shape collections include bonus shapes too. These are not normally included with other kinds of templates.

Inklingo shapes with and without seam allowances

Freezer paper is less expensive than other template materials—but gives better results!

We love that!

THANK YOU, MARY!

I feel very lucky that my friend Mary taught me how to hand piece with freezer paper templates in the apartment by the beach in Naples in 1997. Without that, I might never have become a designer, an author, and an inventor.

Give a girl an acrylic template and she can make a quilt.
Teach a girl how to make freezer paper templates and she can make any quilt.

Freezer paper templates leave me with more money to buy fabric too. Mary was the first person I ever met who had a “stash.” LOL She has had a big influence on my life.

NEXT TIME—TEMPLATE TIPS

My Best Tip—Print the shapes on fabric with Inklingo whenever you can!

However, next time I will share my best tips for using templates, including tips for:

  • using and re-using freezer paper
  • taking the curl out
  • marking tools
  • marking accurately
  • rotary cutting without waste
  • storing your templates
  • and more!

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Thank you for visiting here and on FB! See you next time.

Linda & Monkey

New to Inklingo? Order and download free shapes and start sewing in the next few minutes. Quick Start (Always FREE.) There are triangles, diamonds, and squares in the free collection—great for dozens of different blocks.

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Inklingo for Beginners

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6 thoughts on “Inklingo for Templates”

  1. Hi, I am new to your site.i don’t fully understand about the printing bit how the patterns can be printef on the fabric or freezer paper. (This I Have.) I need a book or a video so I can fully understand the importance of how to print on the fabric. What side. What type of fabric. I am excited so many questions in my mind
    Need to read up on this. I would really appreciate some help
    Regards
    Helen

    Reply
    • Hi Helen, I have emailed you three times since you first ordered the free shape collection on December 3rd. I don’t think you are getting my emails. Please let me know if you see this. If you don’t see my emails, please check your junk or spam folder or provide another email address. I always answer as quickly as possible and I am happy to help.
      Hugs, Linda & Monkey in Canada

      Reply
      • Hi Linda thanks for your reply
        Maybe the problem of downloading could be
        that I don’t have a computer at the moment.
        Hopefully I will get a new one for Christmas.
        At the moment I am using my Smart Phone
        Once I get my computer I will go on your site
        I would also buy a book. I live in Australia.
        I would like the book as I will be able to view it better.
        Thank you for your message.
        Regards
        Helen

        Reply
  2. I only ever use freezer paper templates when I’m hand piecing (well, apart from when I print directly onto the fabric using Inklingo, of course!) and I love sitting at my ironing board and carefully ironing a template onto a tiny piece of fabric so that the motif is right where I want it. Freezer paper isn’t readily available in the UK so I stock up when I go to quilt shows – I’ve been known to buy two or three rolls at a time as I don’t go to quilt shows very often and need to make sure I have enough to last me a couple of years!

    Reply
  3. I’m very grateful to Mary too because had she not taught you that, you wouldn’t have taught it and I wouldn’t have made my wonderful Quilted Diamonds II quilt! You are so right – the freezer paper templates are very easy to store. I still have the templates for the vast majority of the diamonds I made and they’re all stored in one small box.

    Reply

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