Inklingo is Not for You – Top 10

Inklingo is NOT for You - Top 10

avoid printer jams

Click on each one to see how right you are! When you click each one, there is more info.

This is a natural fear but there are at least 8 ways to avoid jams and even if you get some, it will not ruin your printer.

If you use fabric that has been washed and use a HOT iron to prepare the freezer paper/fabric sheets, jams will be rare. What’s the worst that can happen? What’s the best that can happen?

This is another natural reaction. If you are reading this on the blog, you are geeky enough.

Do you know how to print an email? Have you ever downloaded a PDF? Do you have any online account that requires your email address and password? Yup, you are geeky enough.

This is one of the best reasons to use Inklingo!

The printing takes very little time. You can prepare fabric sheets while you watch TV. For every 30 minutes you spend printing you will have HOURS or WEEKS of sewing time and get better results than with any other method.

I don’t get this. Most Inklingo shape collections are in the $20 – $30 range. Prices range from free to $50 (Dresden Plate Fancy Pieced).

Dresden Plate Fancy Pieced templates

Inklingo reduces the need for other expensive quilting tools too. You don’t need to buy special ink, special fabric, special markers, acrylic templates, weird rulers, paper pieces, or Electric Quilt software (although EQ is nice).

You might not even need to buy patterns because Inklingo makes it easy to figure out fabric requirements.

Inklingo uses a tiny amount of ordinary Inkjet ink, so that is not an issue either.

It is understandable that you think this way but it is wrong.

Quilted Diamonds by Linda Franz

I was inspired to invent Inklingo when I was teaching hand piecing with freezer paper templates (Quilted Diamonds). I wanted a way to make it easier, faster and more precise for hand piecers to mark stitching lines.

Even I was surprised that printing on fabric has even more advantages for machine piecers! Think of all the times quilters mark lines manually or even paper piece (and pick off paper) just because they love the results they get when they sew along lines!

Half Square Triangles layer to stitch with Inklingo

Everyone machine pieces with Inklingo sometimes. Just one example, of many: Inklingo Triangle Tips Video

And appliqué! Oh my! All that marking—never again!

This should not be a problem because any ordinary Inkjet printer works for Inklingo.

You can buy bottom-of-the-line or whatever is on sale. Compared to other quilting tools, $50 – $75 for a printer is a deal!

There are tips for buying a printer in the FAQ.

Canon Printer

Inklingo uses very little ink, so the cost of replacement cartridges is not a factor either.

Imagine spending $300 on a die-cutter—and suddenly a printer seems like an impossibly cheap quilting tool.

Almost all quilters have an Inkjet printer or can afford one. From the beginning, Inklingo was designed to make quilting more accessible (less expensive, easier, better results).

Good news here too. Many quilters are bogged down with UFOs and discouraged.

Quiz - Monkey with hexagon flowers

English Paper Piecing Rescue shows you how to finish an EPP GFG with Inklingo.

Also, in many cases, the shapes are available in a size that is compatible with your UFO. For example, if you started your quilt with 3-inch Clamshells, you can finish with Inklingo 3-inch Clamshells. 9-inch Hunter’s Star blocks? Same thing.

See the Index of Shapes or List of Inklingo Shape Collections.

This is a common misconception.

There are TWO methods of fussy cutting.

1. Inklingo allows you to print window templates and freezer paper templates for traditional fussy cutting instead of tracing.

2. Inklingo “No Waste Fussy Cutting” is similar to Stack n Whack, but simpler. Print identical sheets of fabric for sets of identical shapes. It’s brilliant.

Winding Ways by Linda Franz

I teach both of these methods in detail in Winding Ways – Quilting the Inklingo Way. You don’t need to be making Winding Ways to benefit from the detailed info in this beautiful hardcover book!

I cannot help you with this one. I’m sorry.

Monkey, Inklingo Ambassador

For me (and many others), his goodness of heart and simplicity of character are irresistible. (Persuasion, Chapter 13) About Monkey

You are right. There are no old people using Inklingo.

However, there are quilters in their 70s and 80s using Inklingo. They are young people trapped in old bodies. It happens to all of us.

Some quilters have told me they would not still be able to quilt (arthritis, eyesight, etc), if not for Inklingo and that warms my heart.

Quiz Sour Old Lady

Starting a quilt seems like a big commitment and traditional tools don’t help much.

When you start with shapes printed on fabric with Inklingo, you have a line to cut along (no measuring) and a line to sew along for results that inspire you to actually finish—like a quilting Rock Star.

  1. Order and download the free Diamond Triangle Square shape collection now!
  2. Print your first sheet of fabric.
  3. Choose a shape collection for your next quilt!
After that, you will probably want to order The Inklingo Handbook (new low price!) and Winding Ways – Quilting the Inklingo Way, but I won’t mention that yet.
 
“I can’t remember when I’ve been this excited about a new (to me) technique!” 
Carolyn in Mississippi

10 thoughts on “Inklingo is Not for You – Top 10”

  1. OMG! How could anyone not love Monkey! He is the cutest little guy and always brightens my day. Just like the other 9 reasons, they’re just plain wrong.

    Reply
    • Hi Annika! I’ve only heard # 9 a handful of times since 1998 but there may be others who think it but don’t say it out loud. Monkey has thick enough skin but it is very soft and he knows he is irresistible to me.

      Reply
      • Really?? People actually say that to you? Monkey is so cute and lovable!! If anyone thinks he is not, they must be projecting something of themselves onto him…If I were a better human being I would pray for them. But since I am terrible and vindictive I will see if I can make just cute ear covers for Monkey so he doesn’t ever have to hear something hurtful <3

        Reply
  2. I can’t stop laughing – each one of those 10 reasons is SO silly and SO wrong!
    1. I’ve had the same printer for years and printed countless sheets of fabric on it – no problem!
    2. I like technology but I know a lot of quilters who are happily using Inklingo and they’re definitely not computer people!
    3. Using Inklingo means you get to the sewing part faster than mucking about with silly acrylic templates or trying to measure odd angles and cut perfectly. Just print and cut on the line – dead easy and super fast!
    4. An Inklingo collection doesn’t cost as much as the silly acrylic templates and/or specialty rulers and even saves you money on fabric as the suggested layouts will help you to use every bit of fabric.
    5. It’s great for machine piecing too as there are lines on which to sew, rather than hoping your scant quarter inch is accurate. You will know it’s accurate and your blocks will turn out perfect every time!
    6. There are inexpensive Inkjet printers that can be purchased easily and they’re not hard to get used to using either! Plus, Inklingo uses very little ink, so you won’t be spending loads of money on ink replacements either.
    7. It’s easy to make the move mid-quilt to Inklingo. I started a Drunkard’s Path with 2″ blocks years ago, before there was a 2″ Drunkard’s Path collection. It was not finished when the Inklingo collection came out and I have now got all the blocks done, half with Inklingo-printed templates and half with traced templates, and they’re fitting together perfectly. No problem!!
    8. Ha! Won’t work with fussy cutting?? There’s Inklingo no-waste fussy cutting and regular fussy cutting and – well, you should see some of the beauties that have been made using Inklingo. Fussy cutting is so easy with Inklingo it’s hard to not decide to fussy cut for every quilt!!
    9. Bite your tongue!!! Monkey is our mascot and is beloved by Inklingo quilters everywhere. Say nothing bad about our Monkey!! He is a self-described hand-piecing snob and has VERY high standards!! Plus he’s cute!
    10. You’re never too old for Inklingo! If you can read e-mail, you can use Inklingo!!

    Reply

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