Good template material

[AnnHenry]

I just discovered a good material to make marking templates (not thick enough to make a ruler out of, unfortunately) and that is the matting for picture frames. It can be cut with the rotary cutter, and a little fine sandpaper can smooth out any rough edges. Some art stores sell their leftover matting scraps for cheap, but even if you had to buy a full sheet retail, you could make a lot of templates from it. It's good quality and holds it shape while still thin enough to cut with a rotary cutter.

[Bonnie]

I agree its good for a few cuts or if you are drawing around it, but the edges do not hold well, and within a few cuts or a few pencil marks you start to loose your absolute perfection while piecing....

I would suggest getting the heavy Mylar or if you can find someone who can get from a hospital the developed X-ray sheets...those are the best that I have ever found.

[AnnHenry]

I didn't mean it as template material for piecing - - I meant it as a template for marking quilts. I guess I didn't make that clear. I only used it one time and it worked so well that I thought I'd share. Always good to get other's experiences.

[Marlette]

Bonnie, Your right about the x-ray film but it is very hard to get and will soon be unavailable due to the digital age.

My DH is a retired radiologist and i couldn't even get it when he was still working!

Maybe we should contact Kodak and see if they;d sell us some cheap:D

[AnnHenry]

Every place that takes x-rays has to keep those records by law for 7 years. Contact hospitals, chiropractors, etc., and ask for a few when they throw them away after seven years are up. What they normally do is sell them to a company that recycles them to retrieve silver used in the developing process. Yes, digital is the wave of the future, but is also very expensive, and smaller offices will still use conventional methods for a while.