"craftsy"

Ring Tutorial


In my Craftsy class: Inset and Applique Circles by Machine I had a request for a short tutorial on making a ring, instead of a circle. It's an effective design and a great adaptation of a single technique.

1. Gather Your Supplies
Paper scissors, sewing scissors, compass, freezer paper templates, fabric glue, and fabric for the background, ring, and inner circle.
I've made this a 12 1/2'' by 12 1/2'' block. So my background fabric is cut to the same size, as are my freezer paper templates.

2. Make Templates
For this ring I've used an 8'' circle and a 4'' circle. You need two separate templates. From your 12 1/2'' by 12 1/2'' squares draw and cut out your circles.


3. Insert The Circle
For this block we are using the Reverse Circle technique reviewed in Lesson 3. This technique achieves the look of an inset circle with no headaches and consistent results. Use the first template, the 8'' circle, to start the block.
You can see in the photo above that I haven't trimmed my excess circle fabric after sewing it in place. Do so before you move on to the next step.


4. The Second Circle
Apply the template for your smaller circle to the block of the block, after trimming, from Step 3. Prepare for sewing the same way your did the first circle: cut out and opening - leaving seam allowance, fringe the seam allowance, press back, glue, apply fabric, then sew in place. Only this time your background is actually the first circle.


Here is what it looks like from behind, before trimming.


And after trimming.

What a great effect, right? Don't hesitate to adapt this technique. You could try off center rings, circles within ovals or vice versa, and maybe even multiple rings. The design possibilities are endless!


Love the example, but want to learn more about the technique? Don't forget you can sign up at any time for my Craftsy class: Inset and Applique Circles by Machine. Access it on-line, anywhere, whenever you want!


Circles Inside a Pieced Background


More circles going on here. Shocker!

Someone in my Craftsy class asked about doing inset circles inside pieced backgrounds. I promised to try and let them know how it worked. What a fun experiment! I took leftover blocks from the Denyse Schmidt class at QuiltCon. No one claimed these early improv efforts and I couldn't let them go to waste. I took them with no plan and here they are.

As you can see, the blocks were not the same size. I created a random circle template and used it on both blocks. So the circle is the same size, but that's it. I'll likely trim things down and sew the blocks together. After I make more, of course.

And, for the record, it totally works to use a pieced block as the background. 

Graphic Circle Pillow - Or How I'm Using my Craftsy Step-outs


A simple pillow with great impact. Fun for my living room and I used up blocks, unfinished blocks, laying around the sewing room. Win-win!

I had these blocks from filming my Craftsy class. They were the step-outs from the Reverse Circles lesson. So I took a few minutes to finish all the blocks and turned them into this pillow. I can't lie, I chose the fabrics for the filming so that I could do this afterwards. These fabrics are a perfect match for my living room!


This Reverse Circles technique is one of my favourites. It achieves the look of an inset circle without the stress of doing a full inset circle. The finished block is clean, crisp, and flat. This is perfect for showcasing some really awesome fabric. (Mod Century by Jenn Ski, for example, with some Aneela Hoey.)

And the whole pillow is perfect for snuggles on the couch reading and for climbing adventures by the baby boy.


Details: 24'' by 24'' finished pillow cover size with a 26'' pillow form from Ikea stuffed inside. It's perfect this way. Just an envelope closure on the back with more Mod Century. Straight line quilting with Wonderfil Konfetti.