Scalloped Rectangle - A quick design tip

I think you all must be getting tired of hearing about my travels, my family and our projects, so tonight I just have a quick tip to share.

I recently saw a project where someone had used a scalloped rectangle in a book. It was obvious that they had taken a scalloped square and stretched it in one direction to turn it into a rectangle.



Above is a screen shot showing what happens when you simply stretch a scalloped square - the scallops become somewhat distorted since the number of scallops remains the same and they are covering a wider distance.



Here is another view in black and white - there are only five "bumps" across the top and bottom of the rectangle. The scallops at the top and bottom are shallower when compared to the scallops on the sides. While, in some cases, you might want this "look" for your project, if you prefer a more regular scalloped rectangle, there is an easy way to create one in Design Studio. You will need to have a cartridge with a scalloped square such as Mini Monograms.



Simply place two scalloped squares in the same selection box and nudge the second one to the left until the scallops align neatly. In the screen shot above you can see that this overlap produces a scalloped rectangle with eight "bumps" across the top.



This screen shot shows the difference between the stretched square and the overlapped squares a bit more clearly.



You can make variations in the size by using a larger or smaller overlap - above you can see a "seven bump" version of the rectangle.



This screen shot shows how the squares were nudged to form the "seven bump" version.



You can see a "six bump" version above.

By putting the squares together in the same selection box you have created an adjustable design that you can cut and paste. Once you have the squares aligned, you can make small adjustments to the size by using the handles. These adjustments will not create as large a distortion when compared to simply stretching the original square.

So, if you don't have one of the carts with a scalloped rectangle, you can make one from a scalloped square. Even if you do have one of the rectangles - this method will help you make a rectangle with the exact number of "bumps" you need.