pattern transfer

[aulddiy]

I've come against a problem when trying to transfer a pattern to a bowl.
The problem is caused by the top of the pattern hitting a larger circumferance than that of its lower edge.
Any tips that have helped other carvers on this would be appreciated.
rgds
John

[Kelley]

The only thing I know to do is modify the pattern. Some subjects just don't fit certain shapes.

[pallin]

Perhaps you can cut away the edges of the pattern to fit (inside the bowl), or cut the pattern into segments (with marks where the pattern joins).

[SeanMcD]

If you have access to photo editing software like Photoshop, or even a document editor like Microsoft Word, you can "deform" the pattern by shrinking only the bottom boundary to match the lower circumference. I haven't made any bowls, but I had to do this for a tattoo I designed for myself. Turned out that my neat rectangular band looked great on paper, but didn't wrap around an arm very well.

[Irish]

John, some designs as a landscape or wallpaper repeat fill an entire sheet of paper. Some designs ramble across the paper as a rose with it's leaves and stems. Which type of design you have determines how to make the pattern paper fit the convec surface of your bowl.

I would take a rambling design and cut off any excess paper that I don't need for the design. Cut off all the paper but maybe a 1/4" margin around that rose, the stem and leaves. I would even cut out any open space between the leaves. That gets rid of the 'rectangle' of the paper and leaves only the design.

For a true rectangle design as a landscape or a repeating pattern I would measure the diameter of the bowl along the narrowest portion - probably along the bottom rim. Resize your pattern's edge to 'fit' that dimention.

Then I would cut the pattern into even vertical sections. Tape it onto the bowl, trace and use a pencil to 'fill in' the gaps in the pattern along the top edge.

If you bowl is melon shaped, wider through the center of the bowl, you might need to make several paper copies of the pattern and then slice the pattern into lemon wedges that have the points cut off ...

Susan