Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Just 1/2 a day today...

 Update on the basket quilt...here is where I am.  Just scraps, here, and lots more to go.
 These are four inch, finished.  I make a few anytime I run across the box with all the pieces and parts ready to go!
So teach me, pretty please?!  How do I get my circles perfectly round??




Just half a day at work today...a co-worker needed the morning off, so I worked.  Then out for lunch, then some house keeping, then playing in the fabric!!!




Have a super day!

Julie

21 comments:

WoolenSails said...

That is a beautiful quilt and a lot of work. I never make perfect circles, but I do prim, so it doesn't matter;)

Debbie

Nancy said...

What a great lot of baskets, Julie. They will become a fabulous quilt!

Your circles look really tiny so maybe how I form my circles won't work for such smal ones. (I'll be trying this method on little ones soon.) My circles are never perfect but I try for as close as possible. I cut the size circle I want out of thin cardboard. I cut a fabric circle at least 1/4" larger all the way around the cardboard circle. Then I do a quick basting stitch around the edge of the fabric, lay the cardboard in the center, and pull both ends of the basting stitch till the fabric is tight around the circle. I press till I think the fabric will hold the fold around the edge. When it's cool, I loosen the basting stitches just enough to get the cardboard out, pull the basting threads just enough to reshape the circle, and press again, sometimes using a damp cloth to set the edges. But again, my circles are never round but usually the edges are smooth, which is more important to me than perfectly round. Maybe that will work for you?

Nancy. (ndmessier at aol.com)

Karrin Hurd said...

I agree with Nancy above, essentially making yo-yos. Good luck, love the baskets!

Shirley said...

I make them the same way as Nancy does, but before hitting it with a hot iron, I spray starch them to make for a crisp seam that stays in shape. Oh and use tiny stitches close to each other makes the curve smoother too.

Lori said...

I learned them from Gwen Marston the way Nancy explains.

So many great baskets!!

Sandi said...

I use heat resistant Mylar along with a basting stitch to draw the fabric up. I also use a paint brush to put some liquid starch along the edge and iron again. Make sure your basting stitches are small and even to help avoid pleats.

https://shhdesigns.blogspot.com/search?q=Starch Here is a link to some of the different shapes I've managed to adapt for snatching. Sometimes I use freezer paper if I don't have large multiples to do. You can also use Karen K Buckley's Perfect Circles if you can't find heat resistant Mylar. She has a small and large set of circles and just came out with some for leaves.

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

Use non-fusible interfacing. Cut the circle the same size as needed, then stitch to the wrong side of your fabric. Make a small cut in the center of the interfacing, and turn right side out. You can use a chop stick or something like that, to get the circle smoothed nicely. Iron, then stitch to whatever you need to stitch it too. Perfect circles every time.

Carolyn said...

I do the same as above, only I use Karen Kay Buckley's Perfect Circles to shape them. I never could cut a round circle! Here are the Amazon listings for them. If you google them, lots of vendors come up. I don't remember where I got them, but Amazon has them. They're amazing! Love your baskets. A basket quilt is on my someday list!

Sue SA said...

Perfect circles from Kay Buckley, cut a rough circle from fabric, running stitch around the edge, leave a long tail of thread, pull on the thread and draw it up over the plastic circle, then either iron or spray starch so it holds its shape. Once set/dry you just Just experiment with how much fabric you want at the back - I like having a fair bit because it is making puffy berries for my quilt, but if you just have a small seam allowance you will get a much flatter circle.
I like all the other suggestions for templates - by all means try these, as you probably have this material to hand. The perfect circles just stand up to heat from iron and my heavy hand of being saturated by the starch. If your on a production line though there are only two circles in each size in the packet. But I sit and make two a night and leave them to dry. Then sew on last nights circles! Fine if you are not in a hurry!

Frog Quilter said...

I use Karen Buckley circles. Works great.

Binsa said...

So many little basket blocks Julie , so pretty. My method for circles is the same as Sue's.

Ivani said...

As Sandi said, I use a cardboard pattern, paint liquid starch around the edge and press. I have a tutorial on my blog:https://ivani-arteemcasa.blogspot.com/2011/02/tutorial-applique.html
See here how the circles are real circles: https://ivani-arteemcasa.blogspot.com/2014/01/slow-stitching-sunday-garden.html
The baskets are beautiful.

Lynley said...

I do the same as Sandy! Your blocks look great.

Cherie in St Louis said...

Hi Julie! Suzanne Marshall told me years ago the secret to getting smooth curves, including circles is to turn under the edge one stitch at a time. Meaning don't turn under more than a small bit at a time. This works well for me but when doing small circles, I find that "pre-folding" the edges under works really well. I use freezer paper templates, iron on the wrong side of the fabric, cut out less than 1/4" around the circle, then a bit at a time, iron the edges over to the back side (sometimes I just finger press them). You don't have to be perfect and certainly not creased firmly, just something so the fabric "knows" where to go under when you are sewing.

Quilter Kathy said...

A lovely basket collection!
I also use the mylar Perfect Circles from Karen Kay Buckley for small circles.
It's a bit of a process using spray starch, but they turn out great!

Karen said...

I make my circles in the same method as Nancy mentions in her comment. I purchase a package of large index cards with no lines at the office supply and use that for the circles. I use one of the plastic circle maker templates from the office supply to trace circles into the note card in the size needed. If I need more than one of a size, I layer another piece of note card beneath and cut two at one time. If the circles are really, really small in size, I use wool.

vivici said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Sally Trude said...

I baste around the circle (a bit more than all the way around), then pull the thread so that it tucks around a Karen Buckley circle (that are heat resistant). I just use water to spray and iron. Then I pop the circle out. You can leave in the basting thread if you want to.

I have also heard of wrapping aluminum around the fabric and Buckley circle, then iron--and while I have seen beautiful work using that technique...it hasn't worked for me.

Jocelyn is Canadian Needle Nana said...

Your Liberty blocks are lovely, btw. I'm hopeless at the perfect circle thing but you've gotten some good tips here. Adore your basket blocks, so different from my current ones!

Material Girl said...

I’m not an appliqué person but I Have tried. I was making a wall hanging that had a million berries and mine were awful. I went to the craft store and bought sequins. I gathered up my fabric with the sequin in the middle and they were perfect. I left the sequins in when I appliqué them down. It worked for me and they weighed nothing!

Rose Marie said...

Circles can be hard to achieve well .... here is how I do them: https://appliqueandpatches.blogspot.com/2013/09/going-around-in-circles.html#more

Puffins and purples!!

I was tempted by Puffins...a squirrelly breed!!  LOL!  This fabric was shared with me, and I have been loved these bright, candy corn colors...