How to Use QAYG Quilting Templates Set M: Gentle Curves for Borders, Sashings and Blocks
Drawing smooth, even curves freehand can feel intimidating at your own machine. The QAYG Quilting Templates Set M from Pauline's Quilters World was designed for exactly that moment. It is the latest design in a series of templates made for Controlled Quilting and Quilt As You Go (QAYG) quilts, giving you ready-made gentle curves to follow so you can build confidence, stitch more consistent designs, and rediscover the fun of quilting your own work.
What This Template Set Is
Set M is a set of quilting templates built around gentle, flowing curves. Those curves make the set versatile: they suit almost any style of quilt, and they are a breeze to stitch on your machine because you follow a planned shape rather than inventing one as you go. The templates were designed with border design in mind, but they are not limited to borders. Use them for sashings, across an entire block, or around appliqué to frame it.
The designs are also made to work as continuous patterns. That means you can repeat and join a motif along a border or sashing strip and extend your design seamlessly to any length, instead of being stuck with a design that only fits one fixed size of block.
Why Quilters Use Templates for Controlled Quilting
Consistency is the biggest reason. A template gives you the same curve and spacing every time you repeat it, so a border stitched in sections still reads as one continuous design. Templates also remove the drawing hurdle: if you have faced challenges with free-motion quilting, following a shape lets you concentrate on moving your quilt smoothly under the needle. And because you can use the whole shape or just part of it, one set gives you far more than one design.
How to Use Set M: Step by Step
- Plan where the design will go. Decide whether you are quilting a border, a sashing strip, a whole block, or the area around appliqué, and look at how the template's curves fit that space.
- Mark your quilting design. Use the template to set out your design before you stitch, so you can see the finished effect, check the spacing, and adjust the placement while changes are still easy.
- Start with the full shape. For your first pass, use the entire shape on the template. Stitching the complete motif teaches you how the curves flow and gives you a reliable, finished design straight away.
- Stitch the curves on your machine. Follow your marked design at a steady pace, letting the gentle curves guide you. Even stitching matters more than speed.
- Extend it into a continuous pattern. To quilt a longer border or sashing, repeat the motif end to end, lining up each new placement with the stitching you have already done so the design runs seamlessly to the length you need.
- Mix, match, and make it your own. Use only part of a template, or combine parts of different templates, to build your own variations. The only limit is your imagination.
Practical Tips
Practise a new motif on a small quilt sandwich first, especially if you are new to Controlled Quilting. Plan the repeats for a border before you start stitching, so your pattern lands evenly at corners and ends. Around appliqué, let the curves echo the shapes rather than crowding them.
Care and Storage
Store the templates flat, together as a set, where they will not be bent or buried under heavier tools. Keeping Set M with your other QAYG templates makes it easy to mix and match shapes for a project.
Project Ideas
Reach for Set M whenever a quilt needs graceful, repeatable quilting: a continuous curved design along a border, flowing sashings on a Quilt As You Go quilt, texture across a plain block, or a curved frame around a favourite appliqué motif. It is also a lovely confidence-builder for a first attempt at quilting your own tops.
Shop the QAYG Quilting Templates Set M at Linda's Electric Quilters.
