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TERMS OF USE: All patterns shared on fandominstitches.com are derivative art created by fans and are free for your personal & non-profit use ONLY.  Patterns
 are not to be used for distribution, resale, or manufacture. That means no selling the patterns themselves, PHOTOS, physical projects made using these patterns (including but not limited to: commissions, custom work, no selling on Etsy, Ebay, craft shows, etc), or for-profit classes using these patterns. By downloading/printing these patterns, you agree to these terms. For more info, please visit our FAQ page. 

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Quilting Help

Help, I need somebody
Help, not just anybody
Help, you know I need someone
Help!


The Beatles, Help

Have a favorite technique tutorial? Find a broken link?

How to Use Fandom In Stitches

  • Difficulty Levels - FiS patterns are rated on a scale of 1 - 5. You can find this chart (or similar) on each pattern page. Patterns are rated by their respective designers. 

  • beginner

    adv. beginner

    intermediate

    adv. intermediate

    advanced
  • When printing pdf patterns, choose "no scaling" for the most accurate pattern size. This is especially important on paper pieced patterns.
  • How to Enlarge & Reduce patterns
  • How to be a Fandom In Stitches Designer

Applique

Binding

Designing Your Own Patterns

Embroidery

Paper Piecing

  • About Paper Piecing - an entire page of tutorials and information, including a free online class from Jennifer Ofenstein.
  • Practice Paper Piecing from Quilter's Cache
  • Paper Piecing Art: Beginner & Beyond (Learn to Paper Piece), a complete video tutorial from Jennifer Ofenstein
  • Paper Piecing Tutorial from Such A Sew & Sew
  • Paper Piecing a 5" Harry Potter block from ThriftyFun
  • How to Paper Piece video in Italian by Gaya
  • More Paper Piecing Hints

    • Always use 100% cotton, good quality quilting fabric.
    • Use lightweight paper when printing, as it tears off easier. Recycled printer paper works great. You can also try a specialty paper like Carol Doak's Foundation Paper .
    • Many of the patterns include 1/4" seam allowance, for those that do not, you can easily add it using this tutorial.
    • Our Designers originate from all over the world, and paper sizes vary. Printing with "no scaling" ensures that patterns print at the size the designer intended.
    • 5" patterns can easily be enlarged to 10" by copying at 200% on your own printer or at a copy shop (they can use bigger paper!) OR use our handy tutorial for enlarging/reducing your patterns at home. You may find that more complicated patterns are easier to piece when enlarged.
    • When enlarging patterns, we recommend printing, cutting apart the pattern pieces and enlarging the units individually.
    • Almost all patterns are mirror images. The image will be correct AFTER you piece it.
    • To make sure your blocks align perfectly, find adjacent corners of two pattern pieces, push a pin through the exact corners of each to match the two. Pin or hold the pieces in place for sewing.
    • Colors used on patterns are just a guide for fabric placement, the selection is up to you. Black and white printing is always an option.
    • Leave the paper attached to the block until you sew it in it's final place, whether it be a quilt, purse, etc. That will keep the bias edges from stretching.
    • Most of our patterns are multi-unit patterns. Accuracy is very important. If you're new to paper piecing, just take your time and practice, practice, practice!
    • Suggested uses... quilts (of course!), handbags, banners, pillows, totes... use your imagination!

Quilting

Rotary Cutting

Traditional Piecing

Have a favorite technique tutorial? Share it in comments and we'll add it to the list!

17 comments:

  1. can you include something on printing patterns and making sure that the scaling is set to "none" as patterns created in other countries will be made to different paper sizes.

    Also perhaps can we have a little more info on resizing patterns as a lot of the patterns are 5" square, however the more complicated ones may work better at 10"

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm doing the characters for a quilt...I just did Moaning Myrtle and when I went to download Dumbledore, his pattern pieces are not separated. Could ya'll think about keeping the sections separate for those of us who are accustom to Jen's way of doing things?? It would just make things more consistent for those of us who are not design savy. Just a thought! It makes it so much faster when we don't have to start separating the pattern and figuring out where to join the pieces to sew. I mean on Mcgonal's portrait there aren't any directons as to which ABC to stitch to which DEF. Just a thought.
    Thanks!
    Jo

    ReplyDelete
  3. I just tried to download the Super Mario Bros. blocks (it direct-links you to Scribd) and it says I have to pay their fee to download the pattern. It might be a good idea to post that underneath the links on your site. Considering that these are licesed characters, I didn't think you could charge for them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We had no knowledge of the download fee as these patterns are published by Cut To Pieces and only linked to from Fandom In Stitches. All FiS patterns, whether hosted by our site or not, are intended to be free.

      Delete
    2. UPDATE - The designer was aware of the problem and ALL Super Mario patterns are now available via Google Docs: https://docs.google.com/folder/d/0B2hnD_nCc_7LTUNYZF8xSTNoQTQ/edit?pli=1

      Delete
    3. Thanks for the updated links!

      Delete
  4. Hello, I really would like to make the prancin pony for my sons fiance. But she does not respond to my emails. How can I get this pattern?
    Lori Smanski
    quilting dash lady at comcast dot net

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Lori. Only Regina has the Prancy Pony pattern. She gives it out with the answer to a LotR trivia question from this page: http://www.reginagrewe.de/05gratismuster/gm0010_e.html

      Sorry I don't have it for you.

      Delete
    2. Thank you for giving this link. I Prancy Pony is a very nice pattern

      Delete
  5. I'm going to try some of these patterns Thank you so much for having a site that I can download and work on I'm a first timer :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Can someone guide me from start to finish on the Millennium Falcon by Holly. I don't know where/how to begin. Thanks so much.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Bonnie. We have a full-length tutorial that will help you get started with paper piecing. Once you get going, you can make any of our paper pieced patterns. I hope that helps! http://www.fandominstitches.com/2014/02/paper-piecing-art-learn-with-jennifer.html

      Delete
  7. Hi there, super weird question but this is my first time using this site and I'd like to attempt The Office Quilt Along. Where the page talks about what fabric is required, it states "Background Yardage needed". Is this for the opposite (plain) side of the quilt or is it the mottled grey/beige which forms the background of some of the patterns such as "Prison Mike" and "Dunder Mifflin"? I need to order fabric and I'm just a little confused about which colours I need?
    Thanks for your help.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi there! Background fabric refers to the fabric that is in the back of the featured blocks. So for example the background of Prison Mike is the fabric in the block that is not Michael. If you have not yet, I highly recommend you join the office Facebook group that we created just for this quilt along. You can find a link here. https://www.facebook.com/groups/theofficeqal/

      Delete
  8. Hi, there. All of our designers are volunteers and they each have their own methods of designing. We always recommend you contact the designer directly with questions about specific patterns, they are best equipped to help you. If you can't find the designer information, please contact at admin@fandominstitches.com. Please include the pattern name, size, and designer, so we can make sure to get your question to the appropriate person.

    ReplyDelete