Among my many nebbish pursuits, I stumbled upon Inkscape. It is a free vector drawing program which to can discover for yourself here. My intent is not to teach anything about it here, but rather introduce you to its functionality for quilting.
I'm not a quilt designer, nor will I ever be. However, I did want a functional way to be able to lay out blocks on paper without the hassle of actually drawing and erasing them. I found little on the internet about using Inkscape for quilting.
For any type of drawing program, you have to invest a bit of time to learn it. There are plenty of great tutorials. Admittedly, my first whack at it was frustrating (and I'm somewhat computer savvy). My second whack was more fruitful. I just simply had to sit down and do the work.
It is always helpful to have a practical project on which to learn. I decided that I would design a baby quilt. Here it is. I have not made it yet, but plan to.
In order to do the design, I had to do several things. Again, I'm not teaching here, merely telling you my process that might prove a nice intro if you were to delve in. When you draw, you are basing it on finished sizes of your blocks. An unfinished 9.5" block will finish at 9". Here I am using a 9 patch as my central block. Each of my blocks are 3". Don't be confused by the fact that each block is just 4 grid squares each. Using a quadrant (4 grids) is helpful for drawing elements: 1 unit = 3". Each unit is .5 of total. When you determine your cutting, you will have to add seam allowances for each unit.
- Create individual Elements. I created three elements each finishing at 3".
- HST
- Square
- TriRecs
- Determine Sashing: I have sashing blocks that will be 3" x 6".
- Arrange your elements.
- Interior block (a simple 9 patch) containing 4 HST, 1 Square and 4 TriRecs. Your block size can be whatever you choose. I chose 3".
- Sashing: I have outer sashing which is simply 3" Trirec blocks
- Count! For each element count the number of blocks that you have to make.
This quilt was fashioned using a light, medium and dark fabric. You could choose anything that was pleasing to you.
What techniques did I need to master fumble through using Inkscape? Here's a summary:
- Understand how to fashion your workspace. I'm working on a grid that is based on inches. You chose your own scale.
- Create your elements and understand how a single block like an HST has two elements. You need the two triangles so that you can create separate fill patterns. I created each of my elements in one worksheet, and I then copied them into another. They are easy to resize.
- Learn how to group objects. Grouping two triangles to an HST creates a single unit. Once you arrange several objects (HST's,QST's, Squares, TriRecs, etc) to create a block, you would simply group ALL of these objects together to make a block. You can then copy and paste them on your canvas.
- Learn how to ungroup objects. You'll need to ungroup if you wish to change color schemes or rearrange blocks. I found that if I had ungrouped blocks, I could simply copy then and create a grouped block. That saves time. I'll be a littl more organized about this in my next pass.
- Learn how to flip/rotate objects (hint: keyboard shortcuts are really helpful). That way, you can copy one object and then paste and flip it wherever you please.
- Learn how to fill elements with colors (to create your color schemes).
- Master your grid. The grid has many controls that allow you to fix the size of your block. I found it easier to use a 1" grid as the base of my unit. However, each unit corresponds to a 3" block--my individual unit size. Your 1" grid unit could correspond to a 4", 5", 6" etc inch unit. Using this method of 1=? helps for larger designs. Figure out your way and stick to it! These grid controls refine your initial drawing of shapes.
Once you get comfortable (and remember there is lots of discomfort that comes first when we are learning new techniques), your muscle memory will take over.
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