Transparent Block Template for Quilting and Embroidery

Abstract

A template in multiple sizes for use in quilting and embroidery to easily and consistently align, orient, and cut T-shirts and other sources of material to the correct size and with the desired artistic effect. The templates are sized specifically for the purpose of cutting shirts, embroideries, and other items into blocks for quilts and other projects. They are transparent with only a minimum of lines for alignment and placement versus a typical ruler that has many lines on it for measurement. There is a center hole to easily facilitate marking the center of the design or embroidery location. They are in all the sizes needed for making a block for a quilt or similar projects, not all of which are available on the market today. Other embodiments are described.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A template for aligning and orienting designs and guiding a cutting tool to construct uniformly sized quilt blocks consisting of: 
     
     
         2 . a rectangular shaped body member having four edges and a front surface and a rear contacting surface. 
     
     
         3 . the body member of  claim 2  wherein said body is a uniform thickness transparent material enabling items with designs placed under it to be clearly discerned, including the details of the design. 
     
     
         4 . single horizontal and vertical alignment lines as a means to align and orient the underlying design with said template of  claim 1  without obscuring the design details in order to achieve the desired artistic effect. 
     
     
         5 . a single inner alignment marking around the perimeter of said template of  claim 1  as a means to identify the portion of the underlying design which will be visible in a block after cutting and assembly. 
     
     
         6 . a single outer alignment marking around the perimeter of said template of  claim 1  as a means to identify the seam location used during final block assembly. 
     
     
         7 . a through-hole at the geometric center of said template of  claim 1  as a means to allow for the marking of the center point on the underlying design. 
     
     
         8 . a single through-hole near the top center of said template of  claim 1  as a means to enable hanging for vertical storage. 
     
     
         9 . A template for aligning and orienting designs and guiding a cutting tool to construct embroideries consisting of: 
     
     
         10 . a rectangular shaped body member having four edges and a front surface and a rear contacting surface. 
     
     
         11 . the body member of  claim 10  wherein said body is a uniform thickness transparent material enabling items with designs placed under it to be clearly discerned, including the details of the design. 
     
     
         12 . single horizontal and vertical alignment lines as a means to align and orient the underlying design with said template of  claim 9  without obscuring the design details in order to achieve the desired artistic effect. 
     
     
         13 . a single inner alignment marking around the perimeter of said template of  claim 9  as a means to identify the portion of the underlying design which will be visible in a block after cutting and assembly. 
     
     
         14 . the inner alignment marking of  claim 13  wherein said inner alignment marking is used to place embroidery on an already completed item as a means to identify the proper placement of the design to achieve the desired artistic effect. 
     
     
         15 . a single outer alignment marking around the perimeter of said template of  claim 9  as a means to identify the seam location used during final block assembly. 
     
     
         16 . a through-hole at the geometric center of said template of  claim 9  as a means to allow for the marking of the center point on the underlying design. 
     
     
         17 . the through-hole of  claim 16  wherein said through-hole is used to place an embroidery on an already completed item as a means to identify the center of the design for proper placement within the completed item. 
     
     
         18 . a single through-hole near the top center of said template of  claim 9  as a means to enable hanging or vertical storage.