About Linda Franz
Quilter. Author. Teacher. Inventor of Inklingo.
I’m a Canadian quilter who loves creating beautiful, intricate designs and teaching others to make them. Like most quilters, I enjoy sewing more than all the measuring, marking, and cutting we have to do before we can sew!
That’s why I invented Inklingo.
Inklingo lets quilters print precise cutting and sewing lines directly on fabric with an ordinary inkjet printer. No acrylic templates, no measuring, and no guesswork. Sew by hand, by machine, or combine both.
Love the lines. Quilt more!
From Quilted Diamonds to Inklingo
My first hand-pieced bed quilt, Dear Jane, won First Place at the American Quilter’s Society show in Paducah in 2000.
I went on to write Quilted Diamonds: Jane Austen, Jane Stickle & Friends (2002) and Quilted Diamonds 2 (2004), sharing my love of hand piecing with freezer paper templates. A two-hour instructional DVD allowed me to teach quilters around the world without leaving home.
My students loved the precision of freezer paper templates, but they wanted to avoid the measuring, tracing, and extra cutting.
They inspired me to find a better way to prepare fabric for sewing.
I wanted quilters to be able to use an ordinary printer, without buying special equipment.
It took years of experimenting and testing, but in 2006, Inklingo was ready for quilters everywhere.
Twenty Years of Printing on Fabric
My original goal was to make hand piecing easier, but it quickly became obvious that printing shapes on fabric also offered wonderful advantages for machine piecing, appliqué, and hybrid techniques.
Inklingo helps beginners get started and gives experienced quilters the confidence to tackle intricate designs.
Over the years, I’ve developed hundreds of Shape Collections and published books and Design Books for traditional and intricate quilts, including Lucy Boston’s Patchwork of the Crosses, Jane Austen’s Patchwork, Double Wedding Ring, Feathered Star, and Winding Ways.
In 2010, my invention received US Patent 7,814,832.
In 2026, Inklingo Quilt Studio brought a major improvement. Now quilters can use the Studio on Windows, Mac, iPad, and Android tablets, making printing on fabric easier than ever.
The technology has changed, but my goal hasn’t:
Make accurate quilting simpler, faster, and more enjoyable.
Behind the Scenes
Have you ever wondered what goes into creating an Inklingo Shape Collection?
It’s much more than drawing a few shapes! There are sewing tests, fabric layouts, straight-grain considerations, matching marks, precision corners, and plenty of proofreading.
I wrote about the process—and some of the people and personalities involved—in Keys to an Inklingo Shape Collection.
Twenty Years of Inklingo — 2006–2026
From my first quilting books and award-winning quilts to the introduction of Inklingo and the new Quilt Studio, it’s been quite a journey.
Meet Monkey
Monkey is my lovable sidekick and a hand piecing snob. He sometimes says and does things I can’t!
He’s been part of the Inklingo story for years, and he has a pun or an opinion about almost everything.
Start Quilting with Inklingo — FREE
If you’re new to Inklingo, I’d love you to try it.
Start with the FREE Diamond Triangle Square Shape Collection and Guided Tour. You’ll discover how satisfying it is to have precise cutting and sewing lines printed right on your fabric.
Visit the Inklingo Beginners – Main Page
Print. Cut. Sew.
