A Quarter Inch Allowance ... Sounds Simple Doesn't It?

A Quarter Inch always sounds so easy....but how about when you have the actual size of your design and you just want the exact same pattern 1/4 inch larger or smaller? 

See the red fabric from the Cub Scout Banner I recently made?  You have no idea what it took me to get the white inner boarder.  I transferred the design to a piece of Print N Fuse and adhered that to the red fabric.  That made cutting out the red fabric a breeze (not to mention it was then fusible :).  I went to my copier and attempted to reduce the image using a variety of percentages but every time I cut it out....it was not smaller unilaterally.  I just wanted the white to be 1/4 inch smaller. 

I dug and dug and found my 1/4 wheel and drew around the pattern on the inside of the pattern and this is as close as I could get....not perfect...but it worked.

Yesterday the mail arrived and what did I find?  A package with several "Seam Allowance Guides" from Hollie.  Hollie is from Australia and she had e-mailed me asking if I would review her new Seam Allowance Guides....sounded interesting so I said yes.  Then I promptly forgot about it until the mail yesterday. 

I found them to be very neat....and quite helpful....or would have been when I was attempting the impossible with the white fabric above.

The guides are magnetic and stick to your scissors.  The little black ring is adjustable so you can actually cut (inner or outer) allowances to the measurement you choose. 

To demonstrate, I grabbed one of my newest Applique Books, The Ultimate Applique Guidebook (which is excellent....I have a few other favorites too).  I copied a page and cut out a leaf to show you how this works.  I used a glue pen....I like both the Fons & Porter and the Sewline Glue Pens.

I put a little of the glue pen on the paper template I cut out and attached it to a piece of green fabric I had folded.  This way I'll get 4 green leaves I can hand applique down.  If you were going to fuse them down you would not need the seam allowance.

Here I have the Seam Allowance Guide attached to my Karen Kay Buckley Perfect Scissors (yes they are perfect :) so I can cut 4 leaves out at one time with a 1/4 inch seam allowance to turn under.  Cool ay?

Of course they fit on several of my other scissors too.  The Yellow one is for blades with a sloping edge and the Green is for non-sloping scissors.  They don't work on my rotary cutters....I tried that already....you know I try almost everything...LOL.

I've attached  their You Tube Video you can see it in action.


On another topic all together, I want to thank everyone for their supportive comments and phone calls.  I did have more blood work done and I'm going to see a compounding pharmacist tonight to see if there is anything they can recommend.  I've also made some necessary dietary changes too.  I promise to return the favor of positive energy and prayers when you need them :)

Smiles,
Kelly