Friday, May 22, 2015

Fusible Placement Tip

Yesterday, I was working on the applique name blocks for the t-shirt quilts,

and came up with a great way to keep the writing at the same slant and spacing as I had printed it. 

To make these letters, I used Inkscape, a free drawing program, and chose the Forte font. Printing it the correct way gives a reference piece


then printing a mirrored version,



makes the template for use in tracing on the fusible.



Keeping the letters together as one fusible piece, the name is fused to the backside of the fabric,



and roughly cut out as one piece.



Starting at the middle of all the letters, they are cut out, leaving top and bottom scrap outline pieces, and the paper is removed from the letters, using a pin to score it.



After marking placement on the background fabric, the scrap outline pieces are laid down to help place the letters.



One by one, the letters are put into their respective places, 


and the scrap outlines are carefully removed. The letters are fused, and look just like they were written in the Forte font!


If I hadn't have figured this out, I would have placed that 'B' straight up and down, changing the look of the font. Sometimes it's just those little things that make life so much easier!

And, here's a t-shirt quilt update:  only one remains on the living room floor



a big change from this



to this.



Another unfinished one still resides on my bedroom floor.

As for the three finished ones, they hang on my longarm frame.



Once I'm done putting the five tops together, they'll all get borders based on how much fabric I have left.

Now I'm off to work on #4!

Have a great day quilting!








2 comments:

  1. Great tip! Thanks for sharing. I'll probably be using it tonight to keep some lettering straight on some fabric baskets I'll be making...

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  2. Your alignment technique is clever. Thanks for sharing. I will try using the outline as a guide next time I fuse apppliqué. Another great use for scraps!

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