An easy way to make your own oversize French Curve

French curves come in all sizes but not big enough for this project. A large design like the one I am currently working on is almost all curves. The best way to smooth them out is to use a French curve. Remember how great it worked on the small drawing? I make my own French curves in just the size I need. An oversize curve works well on the actual size drawing.


Follow these easy steps to make a curve in a size that fits your project.

Trace the French curve on a piece of paper with a Sharpie pen or a Pigma pen. You need a fine, dense black line.


Scan the image into your computer. I use the scanner software that came with my printer. Import the scanned image into a simple drawing program. Windows-based computers come with a program, called Paint. Look for it under the “Accessories” tab. Nothing fancy here, just functional.

Decide how large you need a French curve. I find a 20 inch long curve and a 30 inch long curve good sizes to work with. They are large enough to give smooth, graceful curves, fit my designs nicely, and are easy to make. They easily fit on a piece of foam core or poster board.

Simple algebra or just using a proportional scale tells you how much to increase the drawings. Increase the original 9 inch drawing by 222% to get a 20 inch curve. Just round it to 220%. Increase by 335% to get a 30 inch curve. Round it to 340%.

Print out the pages and tape them together.

Transfer the drawing to a large piece of foam core board Use a permanent marker. Don’t use markers that run in water or graphite or chalky type pencils. Avoid anything that can brush off the paper later onto pattern pieces or fabric.



Cut out using a utility knife. Use a new, sharp blade and let the knife do the work. If you hold the knife with a death grip and only use your forearms and wrists you will soon hurt. A lot. The tension will stiffen your back and shoulders. What’s more, the curves will not be smooth. Relax. Use your whole body to make the cuts. Draw the knife towards you in long, slow motion. The lines curve gently. The curves are smoother.


OR

Transfer the drawing to a large piece of poster board. Again, you can cut out the curve using a utility knife or a sharp pair of paper cutting scissors. Remember: When using scissors, turn the piece being cut. Don’t move the scissors. This helps make for a smoother cut.


You now have an oversized French curve to aid you in finalizing your design.



What size French curve worked best for your project?

Make a new church banner - Make the Design the right size

Your design is ready to make a working pattern . . . almost.
This wallhanging is going to be two feet by four feet. Most people don’t draw on paper that large. I know I don’t. The initial sketch was normal size and needs to be enlarged to full size.

How to get the small size drawing to the right size?

You have several options.

Project the sketch onto the wall with a tracing projector. I bought mine at a local art store for under $30. It projects a drawing onto a piece of paper taped to a vertical surface. If I move the projector back and forth I can approximate the size I need. Not an exact process, but certainly doable.

Sharp fine, very dark lines affects the quality of the projected image. Rough sketch this large drawing and fine tune it later.

Remember overhead projectors from school days? Another way to get from small to large is to trace or copy your sketch onto transparency film and project it with an overhead projector. Again, a sharp, clear image gives the best results.

Scan the sketch into your computer. Use your computer’s drawing program to get your normal size drawing to extra large size. Every Windows-based computer comes with a program called “Paint”. From a scanned file you can print out larger than life size drawings.

Calculate how much to blow up the design with simple math. Remember, if A is to B, then C is to D?

Or use a proportional scale. This is a handy tool that helps take away the guesswork when computing percentages. It helps you determine how much to enlarge or reduce images to the size needed. I bought mine in the same art supply store but look in office supply stores or stores that sell drafting supplies. It looks like a circular slide rule. Don’t worry it comes with directions. . . very easy directions. A proportional scale will save you a lot of frustration and a lot of wasted paper.
Now it’s just a matter of taping all the 8 ½ x 11 inch pages together to make a 2 x 4 full size banner.

I have the drawing done in the finished size and I make sure not to cut this drawing. From now on only copies will be used. You can trace off copies off this. Or take this huge composite to your local copy shop. I was surprised to find that a black and white drawing only cost me 75 cents a square foot to copy. For six dollars I had a life size drawing ready to use. Call ahead to find out if your local shop has this service.



Do you have an alternate method of blowing up a small sketch to a large full drawing?
Share it with us.