Originally Posted by
Suz
I haven't tried the back basting method but do understand the concept. My question is about doing small circles - those that are about 1/4" in diameter. Is back basting possible?
I am hand appliquing an Edyta Sitar project using needle turn but plan to back baste the next block. She uses a lot of tiny circles. -- I'll await answers from the experienced.
I love back-basting and do it in conjunction with Jane Townswick's unit applique method for everything I applique.
I've tried to back-bast teeny circles and didn't like the results; I wound up using a hole punch to make template plastic circles and gathering the fabric per usual for pre-prepped circles. (Gather fabric, tie off, trim, throw it in a teacup full of water, press dry, clip and remove template, applique.) WIth circles that small, it was easier not to precut larger circles to gather up. I used a sticky-sided template, stuck that onto the fabric, gathered it and then cut the tiny bobble away, leaving a small irregular circle in the large piece of fabric.
It was possible to use the back basting tracing on the reverse of the fabric to position the tiny suckers, though. I put three pins through the fabric from the back on the edge of the traced circle, then dropped the pre-made shape into the middle of them and sewed it down.
If I'm lucky, here's a photo of the work in progress:
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