Sewing circles in circles

[Ellen T.]

I am looking for some instruction on how to sew these circles into circles before month 4. I hate to wait that long in case I am doing something wrong. I also don't want to get behind becuase I'm afraid I will lose interest. Do you do it with the stabilizer still on. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

ellen

[Margo C.]

I am looking for some instruction on how to sew these circles into circles before month 4. I hate to wait that long in case I am doing something wrong. I also don't want to get behind becuase I'm afraid I will lose interest. Do you do it with the stabilizer still on. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

ellen

Ellen, I'm not sure how Sarah intends to handle this, but in all the previous BOM projects for TQS, advance info was not available until the designated month.
That's the way most BOMs are managed.

[Margo C.]

I have to agree that since we are sewing circles into circles THIS month, it would be helpful to know now! I am also not sure how I will handle it. :?

[Sarah V.]

Hello Ellen and Monica,

There are a couple of things to do when sewing the circles into the holes:

- make sure you have everything cut to size - i.e. you have 1/4" seams on the circle and the hole. These are built into the templates so you should be good if you are using these.
- there are alignment marks on the templates, so make good use of these. When you are ready with the 3 pieces (the center star, the pieced border and the narrow outside border) lay them flat on a table so that the everything that needs to be aligned is aligned (refer to the instructions). Start with the outside border at the top. Fold it in over the pieced border, making sure the relevant lines are lined up. Put in pin in on the alignment line - i.e. the point of the pin should be pointing to the center of the circle. Now go around the circle matching up all corresponding alignment lines, making sure that you maintain a 1/4" seam allowance. Don't worry about the spaces between alignment lines/pins! When you've been all the way around the circle, pin the spaces between the pins. I like to use lots of pins.

When everything is pinned, sew with the circle up (that way you can see where the points on the star are!) and treat it just like any other 1/4" seam. I tend to stitch quite slowly, making sure the edges are lined up as I go along.

I wish that I could have done a video showing this for month 1 but there was other stuff that needed to be said and I only had 5 minutes! I could have filled 30 mins with everything I wanted to be able to say, but it just wasn't possible.

I hope that this helps. I think another key is to not worry about the fact that you are sewing a circle in a hole. It's just another seam!
Sarah :-)

[Sarah V.]

Thank you Sarah! I was with the others, wondering the best way to approach the "circle in a hole" issue. Now I won't have to wait until month 4, AND I think I can actually do it without too much trauma!

[Brenda M.]

When the instructions said:" Stitch in place using your favorite appliqué method", I was not sure what the best possible method could be.
I have done a fair amount of hand appliqué as well as machine appliqué.
I did the center circle by centering the circle on top of the star, and machine sewing around the edge.

For the ring and the paper pieced center star...that was a different problem, and I didn't feel that the same method would work.
So, I turned under the inner edges of the outer ring (the inside seam allowance) and then machine stitched the star center inside of that.
I had to take 1/4" of the paper off so that I could press the seam allowance inside.
Was that the best method? I don't know.
I wish there the directions were more helpful.

[Brenda M.]

Thank you, Sarah, that is very helpful! I never would have thought of sewing with the circle up, but I can see that will make it easy not to cut off our points! I feel much more confident now.

[Sarah V.]

Hello FLAero52,

There isn't really a "best" applique method to use - it can be done in many ways. I do everything by machine, so that is how I did mine. Hand applique is a good option if you enjoy doing that. There is a really fine line when writing instructions to being way too specific (people then start to ask questions like "couldn't I do it another way") and not being specific enough. Finding the balance can be challenging to meet everyone's needs.

The ring and the paper pieced star should be pieced, although appliqueing it could work. I have just re-read the instructions on page 17 - I'm sorry if this wasn't clear. It didn't actually occur to me that applique was a possibility when I wrote the instructions!

Kind regards,
Sarah :-)

[Ellen T.]

Thank you so much Sarah. I understand and wasn't being critical just scared to wait till month four to find out I was doing soemthing wrong. I think your instructions are great. Just like the project. I was hoping someone had seen a good method to try. I am on my way to the machine to give this a try. The part about it is just another seam makes good sense to me. It just a curved seam. Can't wait to try it.

Thanks so much for the extra instructions.

ellen

[Kathleen A.]

Hi, Sarah.

What's your favorite applique method? I know you prefer machine applique, but do you prefer satin stitch, blanket stitch, zig zag? do you use matching thread? Rayon, cotton or mono? Do you turn edges or applique raw edges? Would be interested to know your technique. Thanks.

Kathy

[Sarah V.]

Hi Kathy,

If I'm doing regular machine applique, I usually do fused applique (with the shape cut to the exact size) with a blanket stitch finish. I like to use AURIfil Cotton Mako 28 weight - this way I can do a single blanket stitch. If I use the 50 wt (much finer) then I do a triple blanket stitch to get the same boldness. Sometimes I match the thread color to the fabric, other times I use a contrasting or coordinating color! Yes - it really depends on my mood at the time :-)

If you look at the Sedona Star quilt, the circle in the very center of the month 1 block is satin stitched. That's largely because I made a mess of the blanket stitch - and I don't like ripping stitches out if there is a way it can be avoided!!! The little dots on the pieced border for month 1 are blanket stitched. The month 2 blocks are also blanket stitched, using a variety of different thread colors. Check out the video to find out about the "unplanned" placement that occurred here.

I've never done turned edge or hand applique - and am in awe of people who have the patience to do this!
Sarah :-)

[Kathleen A.]

Thanks, Sarah.

Your quilts are soooo beautiful! It's great to get an insight into one of your techniques.

One more question - On the center circle, since we cut out the center of the stabilizer, when we iron down the circle with webbing onto the center star, what do we do about the webbing in the middle that will stick to the ironing board, since there's nothing underneath it. I have a feeling I'm missing something pretty basic, but can't figure it out.

Thanks again!

Kathy

[Sarah V.]

Hi Kathy,

Place a sheet of parchment or the backing off your fusible webbing underneath! You can also use a teflon pressing sheet.

Sarah :-)

[Sarah V.]

Hi Kathy,

If I'm doing regular machine applique, I usually do fused applique (with the shape cut to the exact size) with a blanket stitch finish. I like to use AURIfil Cotton Mako 28 weight - this way I can do a single blanket stitch. If I use the 50 wt (much finer) then I do a triple blanket stitch to get the same boldness. Sometimes I match the thread color to the fabric, other times I use a contrasting or coordinating color! Yes - it really depends on my mood at the time :-)

If you look at the Sedona Star quilt, the circle in the very center of the month 1 block is satin stitched. That's largely because I made a mess of the blanket stitch - and I don't like ripping stitches out if there is a way it can be avoided!!! The little dots on the pieced border for month 1 are blanket stitched. The month 2 blocks are also blanket stitched, using a variety of different thread colors. Check out the video to find out about the "unplanned" placement that occurred here.

I've never done turned edge or hand applique - and am in awe of people who have the patience to do this!
Sarah :-)

Hi Sarah, where will I find the video? thanks

[Sarah V.]

The video for Month 2 will be posted next week with the month 2 instructions!