Hi-

I am a beginner and I was thinking this would be a really easy project to put together using a layer cake and some fabric. My only question I have is when cutting out the circles, are you using the "negative" space as well, or do I need to cut a whole new square, fuse the circle onto it and then sew around it? thoughts..here is the link to a picture of what I am talking about..not sure if this works.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_p6r88MdAZv...ront+cover.jpg

Thanks, JC

No idea. Looks beautiful.

Why don't you just buy the magazine for the full instructions? It's a current issue.

there are several ways to make these blocks.

the easiest is to cut circles from one fabric, center and permanently fuse them to the background and stitch around. you will "lose" the circle of background fabric underneath.

another way is to use a temporary or easily removed fuser (like super lightweight Stitch Witcher). after the top circle is stitched, you can flip it over and very carefully cut out the back circle. the trick is to separate the fuser from the top fabric. you can do that by carefully inserting a straight pin between the layers and wiggling it to get them apart. unless you are trying to save as much fabric as possible, i don't recommend this method. it's pretty risky unless you have a steady hand and scissors with a small and very sharp tip.

a third way is to cut circles out of the center of the background fabric that are 1/2" smaller in diameter than the top circles. center the top circle over the empty space. either use a lot of pins or teeny tiny drops of glue to "nail" down the top circle. (if you're worried about the glue making the circles stiff, use a school glue - like Elmer's. it'll wash out later.

if you plan to turn the edge of the top circle under before stitching it down, and want to cut out the circle from the background fabric, make sure to cut out circles that are at least 1 whole inch smaller than the top circle. (the wider the "seam allowance" you turn under on the top circle, the smaller the background circles need to be.)

of course, you could really drive yourself crazy by cutting the background circle 1/2" smaller that the top circle and then stitching them together all the way around. send away all children under the age of 18 first, though. if you don't cuss like a sailor now, you will by the time you've assembled your first one. :lol:

There's a tute on the Missouri Star Quilt site (or you tube)
on a similar quilt. That might help. It's called "Dot to Dot" quilt.

I have the easiest technique.........I just oooohhhh and aaaawww over the beautiful pictures. :lol:

You only need a 1/2" of fusible around the circle you are appliqueing on. Mark that 1/2" around the inside of the circle drawn on the fusible and cut the inner circle out.(Save the center piece to make one of these quilts in a baby size :wink: ) Lay this onto the back of the fabric you have chosen. Fuse and cut your fabric circle out. Lay this onto the background fabric, iron to fuse. Now you lay the fusible inner circle onto the back of the background fabric and use it as a template to cut away the excess background fabric under the fused circle. Mark around the circle a washable marker and cut 1/8" inside of the drawn lines.

I have made several of these..the raw edge looks awesome and once you FMQ it stays fine. I used 506 spray on the edges as well of frey check. I have also made them with sewing the edges and when I did that I used the elmers stick glue to save money and that also worked great. I left the square on under the circle and that worked out fine and of course a bit warmer. I did use a larger, jean needle to FMQ it. Good luck...you will be hooked!!! I am making another one now.

i use a template made of heavy acrylic. it was used for making a "strips and curves" quilt, so it would make only one quarter of the design. but, if you move the template around, you can get a full square with a circle cut-out in the middle. then you can use the quarter of the center template, move it around until you have a full circle. after pinning the circle to the square part, you can sew it right up. once you get the hang of it, it is rather easy. if you want the specifics of the template, pm me.