A New Inklingo project is Started.

As I posted a few days ago my castle wall project is well on its way. Inklingo released a new block collection Judy Martin's Waltzing Matilda just recently and I had to get it for my collection. So now it is in my collection my thoughts has turned to the Inklingo 9 inch star which is my next project after the castle wall quilt. 

Look what happens. I start playing around with Inklingo and I got carried away and started the printing my 9" star project after I printed my octagon wedges for my castle wall quilt.

I am going to do 12 blocks this time and I thought I would share my way of working with Inklingo. There is some important steps I always take when I print my fabrics to make my life easier and for the process to run smoothly. That doesn't mean I print perfectly every time but this way I have the least amount of trouble and generally if I am having trouble it is because I am hurrying or because I have skipped a step thinking I can get by this time. Well guess what. I am not perfect and we all have bad days. So I hope this helps you work through the printing stage.

1.     Choose the collection you want to work with and purchase it from the Inklingo website if you haven't done so already. Then decide how many blocks you will need to print.

 I know some quilters who have purchased the collection they like and haven't taken the next step. We might have to do some Inklingo workshops in the New Year to encourage them to take the next step.

2. Prepare your fabric selection, by choosing your fabric, washing and pressing the fabric while still just damp.

Fabric I have selected for my star quilt

3. Print out Monkey's Cheat Sheet so you can record your projects printing details. That way if you need to print more you have all the details and you can just print rather than having to work out it again.

 Half filled in Cheat sheet.

4. Cut a small piece off each fabric to print your test page so you can work out which ink will be suitable for each fabric. Iron it a piece of freezer paper and follow the Inklingo instructions on printing your test page.

Cynthia's Tip #1 I keep all my test page fabric samples in my Inklingo folder as a reference guide. This is if I want to print on small pieces or there is a chance I may not have enough fabric for the whole project and want to skip the test page printing. I look through my samples for a similar fabric weight and colour and use that to select the ink colour I need and I always go one shade lighter to be safe.

You can just make out the little squares.

5. Once selected look at how many pieces you need to print and  choose the layout you need and the custom sizing to work out  your page size, so you can work out how many sheets you need to print. Then print on the custom setting you need on to a piece of paper first. This is to check you have all the lines and the print direction is correct. Adjust if needed. This avoids wasting fabric.

6. Cut 1 piece of your fabric and freezer paper to size. Iron together and print.

Cynthia's Tip #2 I always cut my freezer paper slightly larger than my fabric. Then press the fabric to one end of the freezer paper so I have an edge of just freezer paper that is the edge that goes into my printer first. I have found this works the best for me; it reduces the amount of times the fabric gets jammed in the printer. So if you are having trouble it may help.

7.  Check the first print on your fabric and once you are happy cut the rest of your fabric and freezer paper you need and print the remaining sheets and fill in all the details onto your Cheat sheet for future reference.

Cynthia's Tip #3 Depending on how many sheets I am printing depends on how many sheets of freezer paper I cut as you can use the freezer paper a few times before you have to replace it. If I am only printing 2-3 sheets I only cut the 1 piece of freezer paper and reuse it. If I am print 4- 8 sheets I will cut 2 sheets and so on for more sheets. If the freezer paper gets a little bit linty as it will with some fabrics I run the shiny side of the freezer paper along the edge of my iron board then use a lint brush or roller to clean the iron board edge. This helps keep the freezer paper clean and your fabric will stick better to the freezer paper and you are less likely to get printer jams.

8. Repeat with all your fabrics for your project.

All printed ready to be cut. I hope you can see some of the lines.

9. Cut your shapes out using your rotary cutter or scissors what way works the best for the shapes you have printed. Linda has a great tutorial on the Inklingo blog on cutting.

Then you are ready to sew by hand or by machine.

I am affiliate with Inklingo so when you purchase something from Inklingo don’t forget to highlight Cynthia’s Ark when you get to the where do you hear about Inklingo question and help me learn and experiment with Inklingo so I can help you.

Until Next Time

Try Inklingo

Cynthia