Making a template

REQUIREMENTS

• Thick card or paper to cover the area.
• Tape to join to hold firm when making template, or to join pieces together.
• Knife or scissors to cut to shape.
• Marking pen to make comment and design detail or placement
  

HOW YOU DO IT

A template or pattern is essential for accurately making for irregular areas when measuring is not practicable.   Craft paper, thick paper, is what you need to use. The template will enable you to transfer accurate measurements making unnecessary or awkward measurements.

A trick to keep the pattern from shifting while you work is to cut little triangles  in various areas of the paper. You can then tape it to the floor with masking tape pressed over the cutouts.

Trying to make a template over carpet is unpractical as the template keeps moving, it is best that you uplift the carpet and use this as a template or remove all carpet, underlay, battens and get back to the main floor surface.

Another trick is to cut the paper over size and fold into the wall or skirting, crease the paper back on top of the main paper and tape or stick.

Tape overlapping paper edges together, keeping the pattern (template) smooth and flat as you progress. Your floor may have irregular, odd shaped, or just plain hard-to-fit objects, molding or fancy baseboard. Use smaller pieces of paper when trying to pattern an irregular section of the floor, adding them on to the main template with tape, marking the main template with pen (this is in case it becomes dislodged in transportation)

Allow extra paper up the skirting and fold back with a sharp edge by 10cm to 15cm and tape back with strong adhesive tape onto template, this will give the template a stronger firm edge for us to see. Problem curve areas with scissors, cut a slit in your template from the center edge to the wall of the curve and slit every 5cm or 10cm following the curve.  Now crease the paper template back and tape.  Always check and make any necessary corrections to make sure the wall is an exact fit

Make a note on the pattern identifying the position of any object like doorways and any matching, pile direction or where you want different parts of your design.  Double check that it fits and its relative location one last time before you complete and fold up and send.

When you have finished your template, you should have a paper floor with all of the landmarks, section, design detail clearly indicated his will give us an accurate transfer of your paper pattern.

Mark on the Template ---TOP--- we do not want to make your carpet upside down.