How to Use QAYG Quilting Templates Set A: Easy Flower and Leaf Designs for Beginners
You do not have to draw every quilting motif freehand. The QAYG Quilting Templates Set A from Pauline's Quilters World gives you three ready-made floral shapes to trace onto your blocks, so you can build a pretty, repeatable design with confidence. The set works with any Quilt As You Go (QAYG) quilt, on blocks of different sizes, with your feed dogs up — a friendly starting point for beginners. Note: this is a set of quilting templates, not a pattern.
What Is in the Set
Inside the pack are three clear quilted block templates: a 6-inch Hibiscus Flower Template, a 4 1/2-inch Flower Template, and a Leaf Template measuring 5 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches. Because the templates are clear, you can see the fabric underneath as you position each shape, making it easier to centre a flower or balance leaves around it. The shapes work together: a flower becomes the focal point, and leaves fill in around it.
Why Quilters Use These Templates
Quilt As You Go projects are quilted block by block before joining, so the design needs to fit neatly inside each block. Instead of guessing at sizes or sketching the same flower a dozen ways, you trace the same outline every time for a consistent look. For beginners, that repeatability builds confidence: practise one clear design, quilt it with your feed dogs up, and see even results from block to block.
How to Use the Templates: Step by Step
- Choose your block and template. Pick the template that suits the size of your block — the 6-inch hibiscus for larger blocks, the 4 1/2-inch flower for smaller ones, and the leaf to extend or frame a design.
- Position the template. Lay the clear template over your block and slide it until the design sits exactly where you want it, checking the placement against seams and fabric prints.
- Trace the outline. Hold the template firmly so it cannot shift, then trace through its cut outlines with a fabric marking pencil. The product guidance suggests a Bohin Fabric Marking Pencil for this step.
- Try the flower variations. The 4 1/2-inch Flower Template has two rows of four points, and using those two rows lets you create two different sized flowers from the one template.
- Make five- and six-point flowers. Two holes are located towards the centre of the flower template. Align the relevant hole as you rotate the template and trace as you go, and you can create a five-point flower or a six-point flower.
- Quilt the design. With your marked lines in place, quilt along them with your feed dogs up, following the traced flower and leaf shapes block by block, QAYG style.
Practical Tips
Test your marking pencil on a scrap of your fabric first, and check the marks show up clearly. Keep a steady hand while tracing — most wobbly outlines come from the template creeping mid-line. When combining shapes, trace the main flower first, then audition leaf positions before marking them. Start with one repeated flower while learning; add leaves and the five- and six-point variations later.
Care and Storage
Store the templates flat, in their pack or a project folder, so they do not get bent under heavier rulers. Keep the full set together with your QAYG supplies, and wipe the clear surfaces clean if marking pencil dust builds up, so they stay easy to see through.
Project Ideas
Use the hibiscus as the centrepiece motif on a tropical-print QAYG quilt. Repeat the smaller flower across a baby quilt for a sweet, uniform finish. Combine flowers and leaves on a table runner or cushion cover. A sampler of practice blocks — one variation per block — also makes a great learning project and reference for later quilts.
Shop the QAYG Quilting Templates Set A at Linda's Electric Quilters.
