Our recent Basic Shapes Cheat Card #1 brought you fun facts about the smooth curves of The Circle. Time to straighten up and fly right with the most common of the angular geometric shapes. Are these all of them? Not at all, but they are the ones you are likely to come across in your sewing projects and patterns. If you wanted to know more about obtuse angles, rhomboids, and parallelograms… you should have paid better attention in Mr. Crutchfield’s math class. Oh he saw you passing notes, yes he did.
All of our Cheat Cards are the size of a standard business card: 2” wide x 3½” high. That’s small enough to tuck into your wallet or tack up on the bulletin board in your sewing room. This mini size makes them super convenient, but of course, we can’t possibly fit every bit of information onto them.
This card is designed to help you remember the number of sides in each shape, some details on the included angles, and an interesting fact to share at your next cocktail party about how the square is actually a member of the rectangle family. It is simply a rectangle with four equal sides. Boom.
The Basic Shapes #2 Cheat Card is available in six different backgrounds. All six designs print out on one 8½” x 11” sheet of paper from which you can cut out the cards. You may want to print on a heavier card stock (80 to 100 lb cover is a good option) or print on regular paper then glue that lighter weight sheet to a stiff backing material prior to cutting. There are crop marks on each card to help you get a perfect slice.
This is the fifth installment in our Cheat Card series. You may also want to print out the Yardage Conversion Cheat Cards, Measuring Tape Cheat Cards, Sewing Machine Needles Cheat Cards, and the Basic Shapes #1 Cheat Card: The Circle. These four sets of cards are set-up on the same variety of pretty backgrounds. Pick your favorite design and build a set, or cut them all out to share.
You could also laminate a complete set, then clip them all together as a lovely gift idea for your sewing friends.
IF YOU’D PREFER TO HAVE JUST ONE PAGE WITH ALL SIX CARDS, WE OFFER THAT FOR JUST $1.99 IN OUR ETSY SHOP. CLICK HERE TO JUMP TO ETSY.
The Basic Shapes #2 Cheat Card: Common Straight Line Shapes is available here as a .PDF file. Click the image below to download. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, which is a free program.
We’ve minimized the file size, but please be patient with the download process. In addition, make sure you have the latest version of Acrobat Reader DC, and the latest version of your printer driver. Adobe does always recommend a re-start of your computer with any update.
If you are experiencing printing issues, you can try the Print as Image option in your printer’s browser window. This option is often under the Advanced tab. You can also save the downloaded PDF to your computer and print from there.
Is there a cheat or hack you wish you could have as a handy mini card? Leave us a comment below and we’ll add it to our list.
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i would love to see a card
i would love to see a card that explains all the sizes of squares/etc. that you can get from a fat quarter…those jems are amazing and i think people discount their huge impact.
Thank you for the suggestion.
Thank you for the suggestion. We’ve added it to our list of ideas
Thank you – these cards are
Thank you – these cards are great! An idea for another card – which types of thread go with which types of fabrics. I work at a fabric store & customers are always confused which type of thread to buy.
@Kate – You are so welcome.
@Kate – You are so welcome. And, we actually have that idea on our list. Trying to figure out the best way to condense alllllllllll the options inherent with thread