Another Straight Line Tutorial

This is another tutorial on straight line stitching, which was used on Modern Square.

This was done without the use of expensive or fancy ruler systems.  All you need is a 6 or 12 inch longarm ruler, a 24 inch rotary cutter ruler, and a roll of tape.

First, let's do the border work.

The border was stitched in the ditch for stabilization, then the upper left corner was marked 1/2" in from each edge.  The other border corner (upper right) was divided in half on the 45, and marked with a small dot. The next stitching line goes to the inner corner border seam, and the space between the side borders was divided evenly for the third line.

Now comes the fun part!  Using a long piece of tape, gently place it from one mark to the other, in one motion.  Don't try to stick one end down then stick down the other end.  Distortion (a wavy line) can occur in the tape when trying to get the to the right spot.  

Using the longarm ruler as a guide, stitch along the edge of the tape.

For the diagonal lines in the middle, the same techniques are used, but with the help of the rotary cutter ruler.

Using the corner points between the inner block and the borders, a piece of tape marks the first line (on the right).  Working within the stitching field, another piece of tape is laid down with the help of the 45 degree marking on the ruler (placed on the border seam).  Place as many tapes as needed.  Stitch the lines, using the tape as a guide.

On this quilt, I stitched the top and bottom areas first, then went back to do the sides.  That gave me the chance to line up the side lines with the lines already stitched.

Unfortunately, I missed taking a picture of the tape extending from the sides, through the center block, and aligning with a stitched line.  But I think you get the idea of how to do it!

I just love using the tape as a guide!  So easy, with no marking!

As for the center, the border was quilted the same as the outer border.  In the middle, the tape was placed across the diagonal of the whole block as any misplacement would really show up in that small area.

I hope you give the tape idea a try!  A great inexpensive way to achieve straight lines. 

Check out the first straight line tutorial.

Happy Quilting!