You all know that quilting is our first love here at Electric Quilt. :-D But when we saw how Shaun from San Jose, California is using our EQ Printables Inkjet Fabric Sheets, we couldn’t help but share his projects with you!

Shaun makes amazing model ships and uses EQ Printables for the sails. Here’s what Shaun says about his process:

“I used to buy oil painting canvas and Goodwill shirts to use for my sails, but they just don’t look right. Having the option to design graphics on the sail is a huge plus. The other huge plus [of using EQ Printables] is the plastic backing which can keep the sails stiff, flat and smooth so I can add leech lines (the rope wraps around the entire sail). Once I’m done with all the things I need to do before rigging, I can remove the plastic backing without getting the sails frayed, wrinkled, stained, etc.”

“The model (top photo, above) started with a British Caldercraft kit called Chatham. The kit is an un-rigged model which means no sails, a simplified presentation of the actual ship. So I decided to add sails for more detail and realism.”

“I went to an online ship modeling forum for help and someone suggested looking up printable canvas on Amazon and EQ sheets came up. So I bought a set of letter size (didn’t even know there’s larger sizes) to try out. I was really happy after a test print. The texture, weight and off-white color feels just right for the scale. To add a bit more realism, I used a 0.5mm pencil to scribe the sail hash lines on the back side of the sails. There are hash lines on both side of the sails no matter which way you look at the model.”

As quilters, we can all appreciate that hand stitching! ;-)

“The Viking ship sail (photo below) was very simple in comparison. The kit provided a roll of loose cloth which I didn’t use. They’re all white, no design. Since the sail is a very prominent feature on a Viking longship, I wanted a more colorful design.”

“The model is actually a scale replica of a historical ship wreck from Denmark, called Skuldelev 2. The Viking Ship museum built a full-size replica based on the wreck, called Sea Stallion. The color of the sail was taken from that replica. I just added an Odin’s knot to give it more character.”

A big THANK YOU to Shaun for sharing his models with us and allowing us to share his words and photos with our readers!

For more information about our EQ Printables Inkjet Fabric Sheets, please click here.