Monday, August 14, 2017

Stenciling an Irregular Block

I recently made a patchwork quilt and wanted to stitch a tulip design inside the dark patches with buds and stems in the light patches. What should've been easy turned out to be a nightmare when I realized the block wasn't symmetric.

If you look closely, you'll see that the whole stencil doesn't perfectly fit where it should. If I use it this way, the design will be off center.
 
The only remedy is to cut the stencil into two repeating sections with the buds separate. I used an acetate sheet so I can see where I'm placing the design. I sprayed the sheet with fixative so the marker wouldn't smear. I traced the repeating sections and buds onto the acetate with a micro sharpie pen. 

I cut out all but the points with a craft knife.

I can place this stencil wherever I need it to make the design fit.

The design is marked on the block with exact placement.

The stitching is complete. Centering the design makes the block look symmetric.

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