Monday, August 10, 2009

Simple Circle Quilt Tutorial Part One




A while back, Mari brought a quilt to our group. She'd seen something like it in a quilt shop out of state, and went home and made herself one. Our group loved her cute circles, which led to some more circle quilts... and a few more! We made Halloween circles and baby circles! We had a swap using Christmas fabrics- for months we would each bring circle blocks in our chosen fabric, and take home a dozen different ones to add to our growing collection... The circle quilts have become a tradition in our little group! We each personalize our designs a bit, but the basic idea is the same- circles and more circles!




A recent version of the circle quilt used my leftovers from a Quilt-Along with a wonderful group started at http://www.oldredbarnco.blogspot.com/. I had leftover strips that became the piano-key border, and I used some of my scrap fabrics for the circles. Once I posted the pics on Flickr, lots of you had questions about how it was made. I explained, but some just didn't believe me when I said it was an easy quilt to make. You asked for a tutorial, so here it is!



(The Pink/Orange quilt is 44 inches square. The Blue/Brown in the tutorial is a bit bigger- 50 x 50. )


You'll need:
12 different prints, 1/4 yd each
1 1/4 yards white fabric.
(Additional fabric for the skinny border, binding, and backing)

With selvages together, bring fold up to sevages. Cut white fabric into 7 strips, 6 inches wide; Turn strips to cut again into 49 6-inch squares



(This next step is up to you- it just makes centering the circles easier: Fold each square in half;Press. Fold in half again; Press.)





From each 1/4 yard print, cut a strip 3 inches wide. Put this aside-you'll use this later for the border "piano keys".

Using an old CD as a template, cut out circles with the rotary cutter. Careful! Just keep even pressure on the CD, cutting slowly against the edge. (I fold the fabric so I cut all four at once, but you can cut through just two layers at a time if you'd prefer.)


Here is a very handy tool for this job- it's a rotating cutting mat. (Watch for sales- I got mine at JoAnns for 50% off!) You can do without this, but it makes cutting around the CD easier, and it's also great for squaring up blocks.



Cut out 4 circles from each of your prints, plus one more for a total of 49.
If you folded and pressed the white squares, fold and press each circle in half and then in quarters. Center the circle on the square. (Or skip ALL the folding and just eyeball it!)



Once you have the circle centered, press both the circle and square. (It just helps hold it in place while you pin.) I use three pins, away from the edges so you can leave them in while you sew.


At this point I lay out all my pinned circles. That way, I can see if there are any changes I want to make before I've sewn a stitch. Once I'm happy with the layout, I number the squares. I use paper with double sided tape- I've made a set that I've now used on four quilts- if the tape starts to loose it's stick, I just put a new piece of tape over the old one. I store the numbers stuck to the inside of a cupboard until the next time I need them.)



Now you're ready to ZIG ZAG the circles! Test your stitch width and length on a scrap circle to get the desired look. (I like it best when the stitch doesn't look like a strong outline.) I match the thread to the print color, so I group them by color as I stitch them- all the ones stitched with brown, then the blue ones, etc. The numbers help me put them back in the right place after I've sewn the circle on.


Okay, that's the end of part one! See you tomorrow for Part Two! (LINK, Part Two: http://makeitawonderfullife.blogspot.com/2009/08/simple-circle-quilt-part-two.html

34 comments:

  1. Great tut! I'll add it to my to do list! Your quilt is stunning.

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  2. I love your circle quilt on Flickr (mandalin18), and I'm sure going to try and make one myself. I'd really like to master the neat circular zig-zag.

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  3. Thanks for sharing! Your blog is looking nice and I'm sure you'll have tons of quilts to profile. Good luck!

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  4. Thanks for the great tutorial. I love your circle quilt. Might have to try this one some time!

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  5. Congrats on your blog - the tutorial looks very doable - written by a teacher!!! Thanks for your comment on my zigzag quilt - I am in a quandry - may have to make another one out of the same fabric ... looking forward to more posts.

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  6. Awesome tut! I can't wait for the next installment. Do the appliqued circles get ratty after a while from washing?

    Olfa makes a cool circle cutting tool. I am contemplating on getting one :)

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  7. This is such a fun cute quilt! I love yours from the left overs of the ORB quilt along. This is definitely on my list. It will make such a cute baby quilt. :)

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  8. Stephanie, congrats on your new blog!!! And loving the tutorial on this darling quilt! I just bet your whole group HAS been going circle crazy!! LOL! I know i'm gonna when i get started on it!! :D

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  9. Thank you for the tutorial and congratulations for the quilt: it looks really beautiful!

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  10. Yeah Stephanie. What a way to kick off a new blog. I know I told you already when you posted on flickr, but I will tell you again... I LOVE your circle quilt!!! Your tutorial is beautifully written. Thanks so much for sharing.

    -Adrianne (Little Bluebell)

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  11. Love this tutorial and I've never quilted before :P

    Just wondering, do the circles fray after sewing them on? Or does the zigzag prevent it from happening?

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  12. Just curious, could you put fusible web on the back of the circles too?

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  13. Indie and Miki, The ZigZagging does a good job of keeping it attached, but there is a tiny bit of fraying on mine. (The tighter your ZZ, the less of an issue.)If you want to really avoid any of that, you can use fusible web. But that's more work- each circle then must be traced and cut individually. I cut four circles at once with my rotary. Fusible makes for a stiffer quilt too. You can use fusible just along the edge, cutting away the insides where you really don't need it. Let me know if you have more questions!

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  14. Thank you for the tutorial, I actually think that I could make this. I loved your circle quilt on Flickr (emersongray)and this one is just as pretty!

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  15. I'm so glad I saw this in the flickr group! I really want to make one! Thanks so much for sharing.

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  16. Do you think if you used a blanket stitch instead of a zig zag the fraying would not be as bad? Thanks for the tutorial! I will have to cut mine individually though, as I am not that great with a rotary.

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  17. Amber- Some of my quilt group friends have used a blanket stitch, and it works well too. I'd try a couple of samples, and then you can choose which one you like the best!

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  18. I really like your circle quilt. I have avoided patchwork circles but these are so much easier to do and still look great...thanks...I have put a link to this tutorial on my freebies blog if that's okay...thanks Khris

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  19. I LOVE this! Thank you for the great instructions. I think this will be my next quilt (in greens and blues, perhaps?). THANK YOU VERY MUCH - this post made my day.

    P.S. I found you from the link on http://www.themikkelsens.net/sarah/journal/ and am adding you to my Google Reader. :)

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  20. This tutorial is so darling! I'm going to post a link to it on my blog on December 8th. You are welcome to grab our button for those we've featured at the bottom page:) http://sewwhattoday.blogspot.com

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  21. Wonderful Tutorial!
    I love quilts with circles. Thank you very much!

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  22. Thank you for the tutorial.......I just love the photos of the two quilts (top).
    I saved a copy of the red/orange quilt to my computer.....I hope it's okay. I don't use the photos publicly.....I just look at other peoples quilts which inspire me, and sometimes I make something similar. I could really love making something like the orange one ! But, I'll try my best to remember to give you credit if I do........I labeled the photo with the name of your blog, just to be sure !
    Thank you again !

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  23. Hello i love this quilt!
    I also need some advice. Im currently (how i found this blog - googling for info!)attempting to applique circles onto material (for a cushion cover) and im wondering - do you need a special presser foot to turn circles/curves easier? Cause mine look horrible even sewing a zigzag and doing it slowly! Ive seen a few projects online (which i can no longer find!) and the stitching looks flawless!

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  24. Hi,
    I just wanted to thank you for the great tutorial. I love everything about it - the circles, the piano keys, the fact that the circles look pieced, but they're not. I just finished a quilt following it, and it came out great thanks to you.
    Thanks again!
    Katie

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  25. j love this tutorial and j would like to do a quilt like this.
    the circles make me happy.
    thanks
    vania

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  26. Thank you so much for this tutorial. I've really enjoying putting my version of it together. I have used some of the techiques you've described as well as some that I've learned from a few other people. I am making a twin one, that will be given to a friend I know to make her day. Thank for sharing it with me and the others... I fell in love with the pattern the moment I saw it. :)

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  27. Do you sell these quiltsor know anyone who does? Please let me know if you do!
    katie.m.loveland@gmail.com

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  28. Can you please insert the direct link for part two at the bottom of the post where it says "part two"? Then your readers won't have to go back through your archives to find it.

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  29. This is a great tutorial. Thanks so much.

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  30. Love the quilt. Have been looking for an I Spy pattern for my #4 grandchild and this will be it.
    Thanks for sharing.

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  31. I so love this quilt and since i am Circle Retreat Quilter it will be on my list of to do's. Thanks Stacey

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  32. Stephanie, I hope you don't mind, but I have shared this link (and one photo) on my blog: www.pwnmomcreations.blogspot.com

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  33. I love this and want to make it into a twin size. I am new at quilting but have sewn for years. Can you let me know how much fabric I would need for a twin about 86"x 66" for the circles. Or yet, better question, how many circles do you get from a fat quarter? :)
    Thank you for a easy to follow tutorial and a beautiful design. Maddi

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    1. Hi! I think you should get 12 circles from a fat quarter. You could cut the FQ (18x22inches) into 12 5-inch squares, and then cut out your circles. I'm math challenged, so I'd DOUBLE CHECK this, but I think you'd need about 221 circles, so that's 18 FQs. I think. :D

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