What is a good circle template to purchase? I'd like to make a quilt with circles.
#31
I also use plates, cups etc for my circle templates. I have a circle cutting rotary cutter that is like a compass with rotary cutter instead of a pencil. I have a hard time making good circles with it. I have had the best success with fusing it to freezer paper before I cut. I hate to applique. There is a method for doing inset circles totally by machine. I use it all the time. I just taught a demo at my quilt guild on it. Several people tried it and said it was easy. I can't get the link to transfer on here. It is Dale Fleming method and it is called the 6 minute circle.
#32
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 49
Accuquilt! I have the Baby and there is a die that cuts perfect circles 2, 3, & 5 inch diameter. I love it, and I do have the circle cutter from Olfa, which is great for larger circles. Applique on a square with the circle is better, fuse it!!
#33
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Washington
Posts: 855
Whatever you use, make sure and use it to cut the template from freezer paper or whatever, and then use the gathering technique that people have mentioned here to turn under the edges of the fabric. Otherwise you'll have some pretty pointy circles**. Of course, those could be design elements....
**Please don't ask me how I know ;-).
**Please don't ask me how I know ;-).
#35
I would like to make a quilt that has circles on it. I have tons of cherry fabric from Moda's Berry Delicious line and feel that something with circles would work nicer than squares or straight lines. I have never made a quilt block with curves to it so I am unsure how to proceed.
Is there a circle template you would recommend and/or a method of making them? A google search took me to Elisa's Back Porch and while I like her designs, her circles are broken up into quarters and I'm thinking I want mine whole. If you have used Elisa's templates (the 6 inch quick curves or the 7 inch crazy curves, are those very easy to use and does the method result in nice blocks? Are most or all quilts that have whole circles made doing appliqué? Not sure I want to do that.
Is there a circle template you would recommend and/or a method of making them? A google search took me to Elisa's Back Porch and while I like her designs, her circles are broken up into quarters and I'm thinking I want mine whole. If you have used Elisa's templates (the 6 inch quick curves or the 7 inch crazy curves, are those very easy to use and does the method result in nice blocks? Are most or all quilts that have whole circles made doing appliqué? Not sure I want to do that.
#36
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: JAX
Posts: 673
I use both plates/saucers/cups depending on the size I need. I also own an OLFA circle cutter. It's sort of a compass with a replaceable rotary blade. Works great. It adjusts to the size you need and it's better than buying a template for every size circle you may want to make. Goes up to more than 8" in diameter.
#37
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Michigan
Posts: 3,334
The question for me is not the circles.... there are so many things around the house that can be used. It's .... what method do you want to use to apply them to the fabric? If you don't want to applique, sewing circles can be a challenge. I use freezer paper,
1. take a good sized square of freezer paper and draw my circle in the middle. Cut out the circle.
2. Iron the circle to the back side of the fabric.... this will be the fabric around the circle.
3. Cut the center of the fabric away 1/2" away from the paper. Then snip the fabric close to the freezer paper.....
but not all the way to the paper to make tabs that can be folded under the paper.
4. Use a glue stick and glue the fabric tabs to the paper. Be careful that you don't get glue too close to the fold.
Glue can cause your needle to not stitch when you're ready to sew. Smooth the round edge. I take an old
magazine and lay the fabric with paper on it when I glue. Then, I can just throw away the magazine page and
have a fresh one for the next glue job.
5. Now you have a fabric circle that you can focus over a picture or whatever to center the fabric the way you like
it. Now glue the tabs of fabric and glue your circle over the selected fabric circle you want to make.
6. Carefully, lift the original fabric to expose the freezer paper and machine sew along the edge of the paper. You
are actually sewing the 2 fabrics together. Tear away the freezer paper and behold...... you have a perfect
circle.
I HOPE THIS MAKES SENSE.
I make large ovals or circles this way. You can't do squares or rectangles but it makes the most perfect circles you ever saw. For small circles, I iron the freezer paper to the back side of the fabric, hand sew a row of stitches about 1/8" away from the paper and draw it up tightly.
This is a baby quilt I've just gotten ready to quilt so there are a lot of pins in the picture. But, I made all the circles and ovals using the method I described.
1. take a good sized square of freezer paper and draw my circle in the middle. Cut out the circle.
2. Iron the circle to the back side of the fabric.... this will be the fabric around the circle.
3. Cut the center of the fabric away 1/2" away from the paper. Then snip the fabric close to the freezer paper.....
but not all the way to the paper to make tabs that can be folded under the paper.
4. Use a glue stick and glue the fabric tabs to the paper. Be careful that you don't get glue too close to the fold.
Glue can cause your needle to not stitch when you're ready to sew. Smooth the round edge. I take an old
magazine and lay the fabric with paper on it when I glue. Then, I can just throw away the magazine page and
have a fresh one for the next glue job.
5. Now you have a fabric circle that you can focus over a picture or whatever to center the fabric the way you like
it. Now glue the tabs of fabric and glue your circle over the selected fabric circle you want to make.
6. Carefully, lift the original fabric to expose the freezer paper and machine sew along the edge of the paper. You
are actually sewing the 2 fabrics together. Tear away the freezer paper and behold...... you have a perfect
circle.
I HOPE THIS MAKES SENSE.
I make large ovals or circles this way. You can't do squares or rectangles but it makes the most perfect circles you ever saw. For small circles, I iron the freezer paper to the back side of the fabric, hand sew a row of stitches about 1/8" away from the paper and draw it up tightly.
This is a baby quilt I've just gotten ready to quilt so there are a lot of pins in the picture. But, I made all the circles and ovals using the method I described.
#40
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: netherlands
Posts: 832
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