Playing With a Prototype

I've been working on a new pattern and decided I was ready to sew a first draft.  When designing a patchwork project, it is imperative that all the pieces fit precisely; the math has to work, as does the piecing that tests this math.  Normally I design on the computer, but this piece has an odd-shaped background that was easier to draw with paper and pencil.  

Once sewn, every individual patch is measured to ensure that the seam allowance is a perfect 1/4". You'd never do this on your own quilt, but the pattern has to be bang on. Because this is just a draft, I didn't want to spend a lot of time on the "how will I quilt this" question, instead opting to use a stencil I picked up this winter at Mrs Pugsley's. It pretty much fit the space without adjustment.  Isn't it elegant?

With black fabric, it is super simple to transfer the design using a chalk pounce.  Simply lay the stencil on the fabric and slide the pounce over it.

The chalk lines are very visible for quilting.

The lines come right off afterwards;  the package says to use a hot iron, which has worked well for me in the past, but I just brushed them off this time. The batting is a scrap of polyester needlepunch and I didn't think a hot iron would do it any favours. The quilting isn't perfect - "quickly done" was my aim - but even so it's passable, I think.

I stitched the binding on last evening.  When all was said and done, my calculations were out 1/8", which is an easy fix.  The adjustments have now been made to the pattern, and I feel confident that I am ready to start cutting my good fabric.  I may even use this stencil again.