Here’s something different for you. Have you ever wondered how to stamp basketweave straight down a strap without running off either side?
It all comes down to the master angle. For this example I stamped a line and then dropped the image into some drafting software so that you can more easily see the relationship. If I want this particular basketweave stamp (a BK #2) to align perfectly along a line, that stamp needs to run 33° to that line. That’s the master angle. You can measure it with a protractor, but for most stamps you can get pretty close with the 30° side of a drugstore 30-60-90 drafting triangle.
The other factor at play is that I want the center of the rope to run through the center of the strap. Once I’ve determined the master angle, I can take a measure from the where the leg meets the index line to the centerline of the rope. In this case it’s 5.5mm. Now it’s a simple matter of determining the center of the strap, laying on my index line at -5.5mm and then applying that 33° degree angle.
The more you know.
Bonus points: If you own a 3D printer and have a little bit of drafting ability you can make a master angle jig for every basket stamp you own.