Printable Quilting Stencils PDF - Easy Quilting on Paper!

If you're looking for an easy way to practice quilting, these printable quilting stencils were designed just for you! These are digital PDF paper quilting stencils designed for you to:

• Download - Purchase the stencil designs you like and download the PDFs immediately to your computer.
• Print - Print out these quilting designs on paper as many times as you need on regular printer paper.
• Stitch - Finish your quilts easily with these quilting templates by placing one stencil on your quilt at a time.

Each stencil design is sold separately so you can select the designs that best fit your quilts and style! Click Here to find a stencil collection instead.

What are Paper Quilting Stencils?

These printable quilting templates are made for free motion quilting on any style of machine - home machine or longarm. Quilting paper and your quilt at the same time is much easier and faster when you have a line to follow. Seeing the quilt stitching patterns allows you to focus on free motion quilting and getting your quilt done!

I've been quilting since 2005 and was thrilled by how fast I could stitch across each quilt stencil. In just 6 minutes, I'd stitched this pretty clover stencil across my quilt and was ready to line up the next row.

How to Quilt with these Printable Stencils on Paper

Using these free motion quilting stencils is so easy:

• Purchase one of our Printable Quilt Stencil designs.
• Download the PDF file to your computer. Note - This product is only available as a digital download.
• Print out the quilting stencils onto US Letter sized paper. Check your printer settings to make sure the document prints "actual size" so the quilting designs are printed the proper size.
• Print 20-40 copies of Page 2. You'll need lots of copies of the design page because you're going to quilt through the paper and your quilt at the same time.
• Trim off the extra quilting paper around the stencil using the dashed lines as a guide.
• Piece your quilt top, layer it with batting and backing fabric, and pin to create a quilt sandwich.
• Place the paper stencil on your prepared quilt and remove a few pins so it lays flat. Start quilting in the middle on big quilts or on the edge for smaller quilts.
• Quilt along the quilt stencil patterns in the direction that feels most natural to you. I like left to right.
• Tear away the quilting paper to reveal your beautiful quilting design.

Is it Hard to Tear Away the Paper Stencil After Quilting?

This is the #1 question and concern from quilters about paper quilting stencils. After you give this a try one time, and follow the instructions in the stencil PDF, you'll see for yourself that tearing away the printer paper isn't hard.

One key is to make smaller stitches as you quilt. When quilting with a home sewing machine, you can make your stitches smaller by running your machine faster and moving your hands slower.

On a longarm machine with a stitch regulator, select a smaller stitch length so you produce smaller stitches. Make sure to follow the instructions in the PDF after quilting to help loosen the paper after quilting too!

Melissa P use the Wandering Clover stencil to quilt a beautiful table runner and had this tip to share:

Printable Stencils for Quilts of All Styles

Each of these printable quilting templates are continuous line quilting designs. Continuous line means the design starts and stops in the same horizontal line. You can keep quilting by placing another paper stencil right next to the first and the design will continue seamlessly.

All of the designs sold on this page are quilting stencils for beginners. They are designed with wide spacing between the lines of quilting so your finished quilt will feel soft and cuddly.

We now have two extra easy printable stencils: Shadow Waves and Checkerboard. Pick up these designs if you're looking for a really easy, wide-spaced quilting design for your quilt.

Janice C used the Stars and Swirls paper stencil and shared:

Thanks again for the design! It worked perfectly for my quilt. I got better at quilting it as I got towards the end. Believe it is called a learning curve... Janice C.

This method of quilting designs in rows across your quilt is called Edge to Edge Quilting. This is a popular style of longarm quilting, and now you can make your quilts look like they were longarm quilted with your home machine!

Yes, these quilting designs are very easy to memorize with a little practice. By following the marked line of the quilting stencil, you'll quickly be able to learn the rules of the quilting design. In time, you'll be able to quilt these designs without using templates for quilting.

But honestly, I found quilting on the paper stencil saved lots of time. I didn't have to think about where I was quilting next or where I would fit in that next flower shape. It allowed me to quilt quickly and to focus on making nice stitches with my sewing machine.

I have all of these free motion quilting designs memorized, but plan use these printable quilting stencils now because they save so much time!

Tear Away Quilting Stencils

One thing you honestly may not like about using the paper quilt stencils is tearing the paper away. On a small quilt, I found the process took about 30 minutes and was the perfect excuse to watch Cinderella with Betty. Follow these steps for quickly getting rid of these tear away quilting stencils:

1. Roll the entire quilt into a ball with the paper to the inside and give it a good squish.
2. Unroll, then ball it back up with the paper to the outside. This presses the paper against your stitches and begins to tear the paper away.
3. Working one quilted stencil at a time, tear the paper away from your stitches. If you followed steps 2 and 3 above, the paper will already be loosened and won't stress your stitches.
4. Don't agonize about every speck of paper. A quick wash in your washing machine and all the tiny bits will wash out!

Tips for Quilting with our Printable Quilting Templates

• Use normal printer paper - 20lb copy paper - works great! You don't need to spend extra on super thin or specialty paper.
• Move your hand slowly to create tinier stitches. The right stitch length for quilting is really in the eye of the beholder. Smaller stitches help rip the paper and make tearing away the stencils easier.
• Line up the stencil designs across your quilt to know how many you will need to cover your entire quilt. Print and trim the extra paper off all of your stencils before you get started quilting. This saves you from having to stop and do it later. You'll be surprised just how fast your quilting can go with these paper stencils!

Piece and Quilt Two Baby Quilt Patterns

Since launching our Printable Quilting Stencils, I've shared many videos on how to use these designs in real quilts. Check out the two free quilt patterns below and learn how to piece a baby quilt quickly from precut fabrics and quilt using paper stencils:

More Paper Quilting Stencil Designs

I've published a variety of printable quilting stencils so far, but many more are in the works! One thing I'm playing with is creating more designs to fit specific spaces on our quilts. This style of Custom Quilting makes our quilts more unique and interesting. It's also nice to honor our patchwork by quilting shapes that better fit our pieced blocks.