Log Pyramid Quilt Along: Making Your Template

First, a retraction.  Sorry guys, I goofed but it's a small goof so you can relax.  I originally said you needed two sheets of 12"x18" template plastic to make your template but you can easily make it work with one.  So scratch that.  If you bought two, I'm sorry.  The bright side is you've got an extra sheet you can use for another project!  Or you can return it to Joann's, either way.

To make your template, first print out all three sheets of this pdf file.  When printing, be sure you do not scale the image at all, it needs to be at 100%.  You don't need to cut your paper pieces out completely, just trim off the right side of piece A and the bottom of piece C, then tape the pieces together like the diagram below.  Be careful to line up the black and red guides.

You will have something that looks like this.

Lay your sheet of template plastic over the paper template, lining the bottom edge of the plastic up with the bottom of the template.  With your Sharpie, draw a line to the left of the template.

Cut along the line you just drew and tape the piece you cut off to the top of the larger piece of plastic, butting the straight edges together and making sure the plastic now completely covers the paper template.  Make sure the bottom edge of the plastic perfectly aligns with the bottom edge of the template and tape the bottom edge to the paper.  Use your permanent markers (black and red if you have them, otherwise don't sweat using the same color) and a ruler to trace the black and red guide lines on the template.  If you're going to cut the plastic with scissors you should also trace the template outline.  Don't worry about the stitching lines, they're just there to be pretty.

If you're using scissors, remove the paper and cut out the template.  If you have and exacto knife and metal ruler, use them to cut along the template edges.  And, voila!  You're done.

There is one other option that I doubt any of you are nuts enough to do but I was!  I took my template file to an acrylic shop and had a clear acrylic template made.  It was certainly pricier but I will admit, I didn't shop around and just found someplace local that could do it (I was impatient).  I mention it because that is the template you will see me using for the remainder of this quilt along.  I didn't want you to be alarmed.

You can find the rest of the quilt along at the following links:

Friday, April 12 - Fabric and supplies

Monday, April 15 - Making your template

Tuesday, April 16 - Cutting your fabric

Thursday, April 18 - Piecing the main blocks

Tuesday, April 23 - Piecing the side blocks

Thursday, April 25 - Making the quilt top

Tuesday, April 30 - Making the quilt back

Thursday, May 2 - Quilting

Friday, June 28 - Binding

Monday, July 1 - The End!

And you can share your progress in the Flickr group, here!