Circles Block #3, EPP Sew-A-Long

August 5, 2014March 2, 2021 Elizabeth E.15 Comments

This month the block is a tad more difficult, but my primary motto on these things is “I Make The Mistakes So You Don’t Have To.” Here we go.

And where did the inspiration for this block, titled “Ljubljana” come from?

From the Serbian Orthodox Church in Ljubljana, Slovenia, which is beautifully painted on the inside (see blurry photo below), and has rich colors and lots and lots of circles. We recently visited that country, and my husband was under strict instructions to photograph any and all circles, so we gathered quite a few ideas.

rwb_block3

The free patterns are now returning (Red, White and Blue version is above). I request that you not distribute them, but send people here to this website to get them. Click to download a PDF file:

SHINE Block 3 pattern_opquilt

Please remember to set your printer settings to 100% and check the little scale square included on the pattern. It should measure 1″ in size. Illustrations of patterns below will vary from the newer version.

I print out the number of sheets I need for each, then staple the stack of 3 or 4 or 5 together all over in the spaces. ALL OVER, staples everywhere in between the pieces. Then I can cut them out as a group without the paper shifting.

Please read through the entire post before beginning, as I give out helpful tips and tricks.

Choose your fabrics for your circle by laying them out so you can see the combinations up against each other.

If the pieces have a certain direction or shape and I want to reproduce the picture above exactly, place the paper with the printing FACE DOWN on the fabric, then pin.

If the pieces don’t matter (like the symmetrical small arc, above), you can place the pieces either printing UP or printing DOWN, or a mix. I don’t care, nor should you. Notice that I just curve around them with my rotary cutter, as you don’t have to be so precise on that quarter-inch seam allowance for English Paper Piecing (EPP). Just get sort of close to that quarter-inch, but not less than. I pin through each of my pieces, then I fold over the seam allowances a side at a time and baste them down with that icky thread from the back of my sewing box. (I’ve got to use it up somehow.) I make sure the beginning knot and the ending tail are on TOP of the piece, not on the paper side. This is good stuff to do while you watch television.

The basic idea of EPP is to sew your basted pieces together. Begin by matching up a corner. I slide my needle into the corner between the paper and the fabric seam allowance so my knot is buried inside.

EPP is basically just a teeny overcast stitch. Take only a thread or two on each side when sewing the sides of your shape together.

I sewed the first center together half-diamond shape by half-diamond shape. (More on that first thing, later.) Then sew all the shapes together.

But let me tell you about a cheater trick that will be helpful.

First seam together on your sewing machine the two fabrics for the diamond, then cut apart into segments (below).

Before basting the fabric onto your paper shape, trim down the edges of the seam allowances beyond the edge of the paper. I hope that doesn’t sound confusing; see above for illustration. Those two little slivers came from the seam allowances. I’m just trying to get bulk out of the process and this won’t affect the structural integrity any.

It’s okay to let the corners extend. No need to hammer everything down.

Use pins as you need to to get control as the pieces get narrower. I always take a double stitch at the end of my seam, then take the needle through the loop and draw it tight to secure.

Yes, it will look like a volcano but we’ll be taking care of that later, so no worries. I then sew the dark smaller arcs onto the circle of diamonds.

I stitch the left and the right sides together into groups of two. I have done this next part two ways. One way is to sew groups of two onto the inner circle (you see them above in the background), then afterwards stitch the sides of those together. Another way is to sew all the two-part shapes into a large circle, then attach that. I use pins to keep the intersections lined up.

Everything sewn together, from the back. I’m sure you noticed that this time I didn’t include the four corner pieces on the pattern. I decided to try putting this on the backing a different way. Take out all but the outer arc of papers. Take out the papers by releasing the basting threads from the front, then popping out the papers from the back. You can see it in the photo below.

Then, cut off your volcano top, or, as we call it around my sewing group — getting rid of the training bra effect.

Then trim out the center a little bit more. Just not too much. I just want it to lay flat.

Pin your little circle on for the center.

Fold a 15″ square of background fabric into quarters, then press to leave lines for placement. Start pinning the circle to the backing, using the pressed lines to get it on straight and even. This background square is a bit oversized and will be trimmed down in the finishing steps.

As you get to that place where all the seams come together, trim down the seam allowances like you did with the diamonds, getting rid of bulk to help the edge to lay flat. I pop out the arc papers one by one as I go, but you can also take them out later (stay tuned). Proceed carefully, trimming and pinning, and smoothing out the edge to create a nice circle.

Using an appliqué stitch, attach the circle to the backing.

After stitching the circle on, trim out the backing, leaving a quarter-inch seam allowance, then take out any remaining papers.

Using a smaller-than-usual stitch, appliqué on the center.

Then turn it over and carefully cut away more of those volcano-y seam allowances, again leaving a quarter-inch seam allowance. Press everything lightly, using steam. There are a lot of pieces and a lot of grain lines to deal with, so you don’t want to kill the fabrics with too much handling, although the block is very sturdy.

You’re done! And congratulations, it’s just as beautiful as the one in Slovenia.

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And now I’m going to tell about all the mistakes and problems I had, just so you know that I test sew each block before putting up the pattern. If you have found places that need tweaking, please leave a comment and I’ll work on it.

I have actually sewn the block twice. Here’s how the first one’s center ended–with a definite volcano center. Actually more like a chrysanthemum, I think. So I thought it was my pattern, or the way I did things, so I remade the yellow/orange diamonds, as described above, by seaming the fabrics together first.

I tried to smooth it out by twirling it with my thumb. Yeah, what a mess.

Still a mess even though I sewed on the outer arcs. What was needed was a design change, like adding the center circle to the design. Even though the fine artists in Slovenia can paint the center of the circle to a distinct point doesn’t mean that fabric will allow us to do that.

So I took off all the outer little dark arcs, and started again. Here comes the next mistake. I got it all done, and cut the square for the backing and just about died when I saw that the hand-sewn EPP circle was tooooo big for the backing. AAAGH!

I went back to the pattern and measured, and sure enough, I’d drawn it too large. The yellow lines are the new re-drawn lines. I re-drew the pattern, re-cut all the outer pieces and arcs and started again, but used the first series of yellow/orange center diamonds, as I didn’t want to take apart the completed Ljublana Circle Block.

That’s when I hit on the idea of seaming the two colors together first to cut down on bulk.

But I still had that hump in the middle. Still have to make a design change with the center circle.

Here I’m auditioning center circles for the other block that was too big. I like the top one in person, but the bottom one in a photograph. I ended up recutting and sewing the correct size block so still have the large circle to make into a pillow or to put on the back. You, too, can audition center circles once you are finished to see the different looks they give to your block.

I hope my story of my mistakes and do-overs hasn’t confused you. The accurate pattern is up there in PDF. If you are following along, send me a photo of your finished blocks and I’ll throw them up here for everyone to admire. I know this one has a lot of moving parts, but once I got the quirks out, and used the shortcut for the diamonds, it went quickly. Have fun!

SHINE Circles Block 2, English Paper Piecing

July 3, 2014March 2, 2021 Elizabeth E.10 Comments

Circles Block #2: Sunshine

Here we go again, with the second block in our slow sewing, English Paper Piecing, series of circles. While I call it Sunshine, because of the fabric I used, the official name is called Kansas Sunflower (I like it best when we quilters acknowledge the history of our blocks). Barbara Brackman’s book shows its origin around 1928.

RWB_Block2

The free patterns are now returning (Red, White and Blue version is above). I request that you not distribute them, but send people here to this website to get them. Click to download a PDF file:

SHINE Block 2 pattern_opquilt

Please remember to set your printer settings to 100% and check the little scale square included on the pattern. It should measure 1″ in size. Illustrations of the patterns below will vary from the newer version.

This one has a large center circle, which measures a bit under 5 1/2,” but I would cut the fabric circle for the center at 6″ diameter, because I think having the extra bit of cloth is better. To get a smooth template to gather it up over, iron two pieces of freezer paper together, then trace the circle. It should give you enough stability. Or do as I did: head to your iron, and using the tip, iron it in small bites around your paper circle, then sew it to the paper.

Here’s the sketch of the block. On the lower right you’ll notice that I colored in one half-arc green and one half-arc blue. If you want to split yours up like that, I included just one tracing of that as an option, but you could also just cut the other arcs in half and go at it that way. I prefer the larger outer arc. As before, in Circles Block #1, there is an assumption that you know a bit about English Paper Piecing, where you take the pattern, lay it out, then fold the seam allowances back over the paper pattern, then baste. Others have used freezer paper, or glue. Do a Google search if you are curious about these other ways of securing the paper.

I wanted to use a chevron for the “petal” piece, so I fussy cut them so the chevron stripes would meet along the sides. I pin down my pieces (since these are symmetrical pieces, it doesn’t matter whether the printed words are up or down), then just freehand rotary cut around them.

Auditioning everything.

After basting the seam allowances down to every pattern piece, I stitched the petals together in two groups of six. Then I sewed the arcs in between those, as shown below:

I stitched those two flower halves together, then the last two arcs, then laid on the center. I don’t know why I chose this orangey-red; it just spoke to me. I had already basted the seam allowances down so I just arranged it on the petals and pinned it down. I appliquéd it onto the petals, and that’s when I discovered that maybe a 6″ diameter circle might make you happier as it’s a scant 1/4″ overlap in some places. Then the fun part: taking out some of the papers. I released the center circle basting threads and the petal basting threads and took out those papers, but left the papers in the deep blue outer arcs.

I’m putting the photo in again, because now you have a decision to make: do you want those four seams in the outer pieces to line up with a point? Or to be offset (like mine)? I went back and forth and decided I didn’t want it so busy–I liked the slightly off-kilter look of not having points dead center at Noon, Three, Six and Nine O’Clock.

I don’t think there is any easy way to get those four outside pieces on. This is how I do it: I stitch the seams between parts #1 and #2 to get two pieces hooked together, then pin it about four places around that the #1 arc of the outside circle. I begin at the lower center (XX) and stitch around that 1/4-arc, stopping one inch short of the next seam allowance. Part #2 is just flapping in the breeze.

UPDATE: After doing a couple of circle blocks I found I liked it better using a 15″ square and appliquéing on the circle. See Circle #3 for information. Your choice.

Then I go back to where I started stitching (XX), and stitch the other side (#2), using a few pins where needed (not too many, or it’s ouch-ouch-ouch). I then seam together pieces #3 and #4, and repeat the process. As I draw near to the #2 piece, I thread a different thread, do the seam between #2 and #3, then tie it off. I go back to the thread I was stitching with before and then finish it off. Repeat for 1/4-arc #4.

I just reread this, and if you are confused, I don’t blame you. It’s just hard to navigate those pieces when they are backed with paper, and I get tired of fighting with them. I suppose you could just seam all four outside corners together, then pin and appliqué it down like you did the center circle. I don’t think there is a wrong way or a right way to do this. Have fun and let me know what works for you.

Are you worried about the fact that my circles aren’t matchy-matchy? Sometimes I was worried about that too, but then in the previous post I noticed that there was such a variety of circles and colors in a couple of those quilts, and calmed right down. Keep going. Keep stitching. Have fun. Next circle block comes up around the first of August, right after our Four-in-Art Reveal of Contrasts.

I’ve started a tab with all the blocks and their posts, for easier reference. By the way, there is no big deadline for any of this; I think I’d have a heart attack if I had one more deadline. I just wanted a project to put in a little box and carry with me on car travels, on vacations, and while I collapse in the heat at night on the sofa to watch a good movie. (And given that it will take me several months, I may be curling up under a quilt in the cold, still hand-sewing.) Just know that it’s here if you want to make some circles, or a pillow, or need a hand project that is an alternative to 5,000 hexagon papers. If you do decide to make one, or several, send me a photo and I’ll put it up here on the blog. Have fun sloooow sewing!

Quilts

SHINE: Circles Block 1, English Paper Piecing

June 2, 2014March 2, 2021 Elizabeth E.17 Comments

Worn out from two back-to-back trips, I spent the day quietly hand-sewing my Circles Block #1, Swirlygig, using the English Paper-Piecing Method. A couple of weeks ago, I had decided I wanted to make a series of circular blocks, but I wanted to do them slowly, with hand-sewing. So I’ve turned to English Paper-Piecing, which involves using paper shapes sewn inside your fabric. For a pretty good how-to video, watch *this one,* which uses hexagon shapes. The only difference between this video and how I do it, is that I sew from the back to the front with my whipstitch. Do whichever one you like.)

rwb_block1

The free patterns are now returning (Red, White and Blue is above). I request that you not distribute them, but send people here to this website to get them. Click to download a PDF file:

SHINE Block 1 pattern_opquilt

Please remember to set your printer settings to 100% and check the little scale square included on the pattern. It should measure 1″ in size. Illustrations of patterns below will differ from the newer version of the pattern.

A word about laying out the pieces. The straight grain (threads parallel to the selvage) and the cross grain (threads running across the fabric) have less stretch that does the bias, which is what we call the diagonal line across the fabric. So when you know you have to ease that 1/4″ seam allowance over a curved edge, lay it out so that diagonal bias will align with that edge, as shown above. I didn’t lay out the swirl pieces with regard to grain (paying attention instead to the fabric’s design), but certainly any time you need a little more ease, or want the fabric to fold easily over a pattern piece, put that bias to work for you. First, cut out the shapes, then cut out the fabric, leaving 1/4″ seam allowance around most of the pieces. Baste the pieces onto the paper (good time to use up old icky thread that you don’t want to use in your quilts). Some people like to use freezer paper, others like to use glue. If you do a search on English Paper Piecing, everyone has a favorite method. Mine is folding the seam allowances over the paper edges and sewing them to the paper.

When I started sewing the inner swirling pieces together, it was easier if I placed the piece with the outward (or convex) curve on the top (like Spun Sugar does *here*, but I never clipped any of my seam allowances, nor used glue–just pins). I lined up the outer corner and sewed a couple of stitches to anchor it. Then I moved on down the seam, using an overcast whipstitch. I was happy that it went quickly. Here’s my Instagram photo of the first few swirls sewn together. I was sewing these as my husband drove us home across the Arizona desert. I have a rigid plastic box that hinges in the middle, folding out like a portable desk, and I keep everything in there. After I sewed together most of the inner circle, I went back to joining the last three together independently, then added them to make the circle. Next up were the little triangle points and the outer arcs. I tried sewing these on two different ways: first the little triangle points, then the arcs in between them. Fail. Better to sew a few triangle points to their outer arcs, then attach that to the existing circle. Then repeat.

I sewed about five points and arcs, attach it to what I’d sewn on before, attach that new section to the circle, and then start again with a few new arcs and circles. Above you see me finishing off the last of the sewing the arcs/triangles to the circle. Things can get a little skitty-wampus, but this is the back, showing it sewing with all their papers. I was trying out some designs with my colored pencils, so you see some different colors on the paper.

I’m sure you noticed that the swirls move a different direction in the fabric, than from the drawing. Everything is dependent on how you lay out the printed pieces, text UP or text DOWN. In one of our blocks, we’ll lay them the reverse direction, and have it swirl the other direction.

Everything is sewn together, and pressed.

The outside corners have been seamed together, then sewn on. Again, it’s a little wonky-looking because the papers are still inside.

UPDATE: After doing a couple of circle blocks I found I liked it better using a 14 /12″ square and appliquéing on the circle. Your choice. I used Karen Buckley’s Perfect Circles to make my center circle, sewing a running stitch around the outside edge, then drawing it up around the plastic circle, then pressing it into place. You can iron two pieces of freezer paper together and trace off the circle on the pattern to use as your template, if you don’t have the Perfect Circles. I was having a hard time figuring out how to get that circle on. I took out all the papers, gave it a good steamy press, pinned on the circle and just appliquéd it on. And that’s the first circle block! I am still learning about which colors and shapes and directions will go where with these circle blocks; feel free to experiment as well. I have learned that I can be overly critical with a particular block, but when worked into a quilt, my concerns and criticisms often disappear, so I just keep going. I’ll post one of these about every month, somewhere near the beginning of the month. I hope to get twelve different circle patterns by the time I’m through. I hope you join me on the journey!