Patent Application
20110253020
This invention relates generally to tools and methods useful in the design and organization of artwork. More particularly, the present invention relates to a reusable pin-type marking system for use primarily in organizing and synchronizing the design and assembly of sections or blocks of fabric used in the creation of quilts.
Historically, quilts were made exclusively for utilitarian purposes. However, in modern times quilting has become a form of art using fabric as the medium just as an artist would use paint. Quilt designers often use very intricate and artistic patterns and designs involving themes, geometric sequences, grids, etc. in order to “paint” the quilt canvas. Virtually all quilt designs involve the use of repetitive rows or columns of blocks of fabric to make up the overall quilt design. The creation of a quilt design can be, and most often is, a very tedious endeavor resulting in hours of work in order to achieve the desired design or pattern. Modern quilt artists typically use a wall or board covered in flannel, or some other fabric attracting surface, in order to temporarily place, hold and assemble their designs thereby allowing the artist to visualize the rows, columns and/or squares of their design as it is being created and to see the finished quilt design before it is caused to be sewn together. The quilt design wall/board also allows the artist to easily change the placement of the fabric squares and/or to change the colors or order of the rows or columns of the design in order to achieve the artist's vision of the perfect quilt. Once the final quilt design has been established, the fabric blocks or squares that comprise the rows or columns of the artist's design must then be disassembled and removed from the design wall and kept in design-specific “order” so that the complete design can be transferred intact to a sewing station for final synchronization and assembly. Keeping the specific order of the rows or columns of fabric blocks of the final quilt design is absolutely critical to the successful synchronization and assembly of the quilt by the seamstress. Various means have been employed or attempted by quilt artists in the past for labeling, marking or otherwise designating the order of the fabric blocks or squares comprising the rows or columns of final quilt designs. However, these prior attempts have been met with measured or limited success. Some quilt artists, including your applicant, have tried numbering the rows or columns of the final quilt design by using adhesive hand-numbered “sticky” notes or hand-numbered adhesive mailing labels or hand-numbered bits of masking tape or hand-numbered bits of paper pinned to the fabric. While these methods will generally work, they are typically cumbersome, not readily reusable and are very time consuming. Others have used a system wherein a plurality of safety pins are used to mark the rows or columns of the final quilt design where one pin is used to mark or designate row/column #1, two pins would mark or designate row/column #2, three pins for row/column #3, etc. While this method or system will also work, it is obviously very tedious and time consuming; especially in light of the fact that many quilt designs will have twenty or more rows or columns in the final design.
A simple, inexpensive and permanent solution is needed for this ongoing and basic problem that all modern quilt artists face. It would be expedient, therefore, to provide a simple, reusable, pre-numbered tool, kit and system for use by quilt artists in designing, visualizing and synchronizing the rows, blocks, columns and/or squares of fabric utilized in the art of quilt making.
Accordingly, in view of the foregoing, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a simple, reusable, tool, kit and method for marking and synchronizing the design and assembly of intricate works of art such as quilts.
According to an embodiment of the invention, a pre-numbered, reusable, marking system for use in visualizing, designating and synchronizing the rows, columns or blocks of fabric used in quilt designs comprises a series of straight pins having large flattened heads with numerical or other sequential designations imprinted or embedded thereon. A multi-compartmented storage and carrying device for organizing and storing the marking pins is also included.
It is an important object of the present invention to provide a simple and inexpensive solution to an ongoing and basic problem faced by all quilting artists.
Another important object of the present invention is to provide an organized and permanent solution to said ongoing and basic problem.
An important advantage of the present invention is the provision of a simple method and apparatus which allows a quilt artist to easily designate, and therefore synchronize, the sequential order of the rows or columns of the artist's quilt design for final assembly.
Another advantage of the present invention resides in the elimination of other tedious marking methods such as the use of adhesive tape, paper or a multiplicity of pins.
A further advantage of the present invention resides in the provision of method and apparatus for marking or designating the rows or columns of a quilt design which allows the quilt artist to easily and confidently maintain the specific order of the design while dismantling the quilt design for final assembly.
Another advantage of the present invention is the provision of a permanent tool for marking and designating the rows or columns of quilt designs wherein said tool is made of durable, lightweight material.
A further advantage of the present invention is the provision of an organizing kit for accessing and storing the pre-numbered marking pins of the invention.
The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of preferred embodiments as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the various views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.
In accordance with an embodiment of the invention,
Referring now to
Referring now to
Upon completion of the final assembly of the quilt 300, the marking tools 100 used to assist in the synchronization of said assembly are removed from the quilt 300 and returned to the organizational kit 200 to be sequentially organized and stored within the compartments 230 of said kit 200 for future use.
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various alterations in form, detail and construction may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
