Whenever I get a pile of crumbs, I do some more work on my QAYG hexies. The card stock templates I made weren't bad, but they were getting a little worn. I didn't realize how much I'd use them. I needed something that could take the abuse.
I have pieces of plexiglas, leftover from when I had to chew-proof the bars of the guinea pig cage. Luckily, my current pair aren't as industrious as past guinea pigs. I had success cutting the plexiglas to fit the cage, so I decided to try making two hexagrams with them.
Plexiglas isn't difficult to work with. I traced paper copies of the card stock templates and taped them to the acrylic. Then I scored and snapped it. Most of it broke cleanly; the little pieces left were surprisingly easy to break off as well (I just needed a pair of pliers to grab hold). I sanded the edges and voila! Two new templates.
The small hexagon needed a bit more sanding so the rotary cutting blade wouldn't catch on the edge. Both templates slid terribly on the fabric when I tried them out. I read on Muse Bay Muses about using bandaging tape as ruler grip. I had bought a role of tape, but my rulers stay put. Finally, a chance to use the stuff - it works!
My templates aren't perfect, but they're a great match to my card stock ones. Buying templates would have been the easier way to go, had I realized they'd get so much use. But I'm excited how these turned out. I'll enjoy working with them. Plus it's cool to know I could make more customized rulers, if I wanted. It was a fun side project.
Now, back to sewing.
Sharing with Linky Tuesday.
i had no idea plexi is easy to work with! Thanks! I love learned things that open up more options.
ReplyDelete