Quilting Tech Test: Westalee Rulers

This month, our friends over at The Cotton Patch have sent us some much-sought-after Westalee Ruler Templates to play with, and so that’s exactly what we’re doing in the office today. These popular quilting templates work by inserting a special quilting foot to your machine, which then follows the guide of the templates shapes to quilt the neatest of shapes, curves and patterns. They’ve been hugely in demand since they launched in the UK, and our Technical Editor (and all-round quilt pro) Laura has been testing out the templates in the office today. She’s already hooked!

Freehand quilting with a helping hand

“Free-motion quilting can be tricky to master so these templates are an excellent tool to enhance your home quilting skills and open up new creative options,” Laura reported back after testing out the templates on a quilt in progress. “With just a little practise, you’ll be quilting neat professional looking shapes in no time. We love that you can mix and match designs, such as clamshells and spirals, to take your quilting to the next level.”

Level up your quilting with quilting stencils

If you’re interested in trying out different kit to increase your quilting repertoire, check out our post with tips for using quilting stencils and freemotion quilting.

Here’s one we made earlier… the templates have been designed to work together to create kaleidoscope quilt designs, as well as clamshells and curves.

Fancy giving it a go?

• The Cotton Patch have a great selection of Westalee Ruler Templates in their online store. And to find out more:
• Take a look at The Cotton Patch’s free Westalee ebook
• Westalee have made some helpful You Tube videos to show you in more detail how their templates work.

Laura Pritchard

Laura has been sewing since she was a child and quilting for most of her adult life. Her work has been published in several quilting and craft magazines including Love Patchwork and Quilting, Mollie Makes and Simply Sewing. She is a technical pro and until recently worked as the Deputy Editor for Today’s Quilter magazine, where she worked since the magazine launched in 2015. She loves teaching and often runs workshops at The Festival of Quilts. She first launched her quilting career selling pet quilts on Etsy and notonthehighstreet.com, inspired by her own pampered cats. Away from the sewing machine, Laura is a book addict and interiors obsessor. She regularly posts photos on Instagram @laurapritchardquilts about her works-in-progress, finished quilts and her life in Bristol.

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