Continuous Quilting Stencils Help Keep Design In Line

When designing a quilt there are many times the quilter wants the border or the block to be continuous along all four sides, or just two sides, but to accomplish that they will need to use continuous quilting stencils to keep everything even and straight. Whether it is for the edges of the blocks or the overall quilt, the use of continuous quilting stencils can make the life of the quilter easier.

Most continuous quilting stencils are designed as a continuous line, eliminating the need to stop and start your thread in the quilt. Starting at one end, you continue stitching until you reach the end of the pattern. Pattern size will depend on you as well as the size of your quilt, but the advantage is you can use a pattern on every block or every other one to help vary your design. Once block size has been established you can use the pattern allowing for the border, and then just get to work on your quilt.

You can use the drawing continuous quilting stencils, with which you draw the pattern on the material and then sew along the pattern, or the tear-off types of patterns. Holding the pattern in place with safety pins keeps it from moving while you sew directly through the pattern paper into the cloth. Once you have finished, simply tear the paper off from the continuous quilting stencils and you are done. The paper used should be the same as that found on traditional sewing patterns as it tears easily and will not leave pieces behind when removed.

Continuous Quilting Stencils For Blocks Or Borders

To maintain consistency throughout the quilt, many quilters prefer using the same technique throughout the entire project. If continuous line patterns are used in each block, they will want to use continuous line borders as well. Fortunately, continuous quilting stencils are designed for blocks and borders and many include complementing designs that can be used on the entire quilting project.

Using the right color thread on the quilt is especially important with continuous quilting stencils as there will not be as many sections where the colors are broken. Each block can be a different color, but making sure the color does not contrast too much will be a priority. Having the same color of thread used on every block can be dull, but can be acceptable if it is a pleasing contrast to the fabric.