Starting this blog made me remember how much I love to make quilts. Once my class was over, I started T-shirt quilts for my two youngest daughters. In this post I will be showing how I make frayed circles, both girls want them in their quilts so I figure they are worth a look. This is an example of a quilt that I made a while ago that used frayed circles.
This is the design for Maggie's quilt. The background will be dark purple. I couldn't find as much as I needed but I had several dark purples in my stash so I will use those also. I have found that as long as the colors are very similar and there isn't a print that really stands out; it is actually more interesting with several different fabrics. As you can see in the design, I sew the quilt together in many small pieces.
I use a 2" grid for all of my T-shirt quilts. Because of this the circles would be a 4" square. Since I use a 1/4" seam and will be cutting the background square into quarters I will start with a 5" square. This square is folded into quarters and I press the folds. This is helpful when placing the circles on the background square.
To cut the circles I use acrylic templates from Creative Grids: Non-Slip Rotary Cutting Circles come in a package with 2 1/2" through 6 1/2" circles. These make the cutting much quicker and more accurate. For this project I will be using a variety of jewel tone fabrics. Since I have been doing this for awhile I used 78 different fabrics from my stash. I would say that if you need to purchase fabrics; you would want at least 4 of each color.
Once both sizes of circles have been cut I fold them into quarters and press the lightly also. These folds will be a guide for where to place the circles onto the background square. I like to place 2 pins on the large circle to hold it in place for sewing.
I use a very narrow zig zag stitch. I start and stop at the folds since these will be cut apart and sewn back together, the start will be hidden. I like to use a varigated rainbow colored thread since it will be seen this is an easy way to blend and much faster than changing thread for every color.
Once the large circles are sewn on; the fabric behind them needs to be removed or the piece will be too bulky. I have a pair of curved, blunt tipped applique scissors that work great. I think the most important thing is that they are blunt tipped so you don't have much of a risk of cutting the front of the circle.
Once both sizes of circles have been cut I fold them into quarters and press the lightly also. These folds will be a guide for where to place the circles onto the background square. I like to place 2 pins on the large circle to hold it in place for sewing.
I use a very narrow zig zag stitch. I start and stop at the folds since these will be cut apart and sewn back together, the start will be hidden. I like to use a varigated rainbow colored thread since it will be seen this is an easy way to blend and much faster than changing thread for every color.
Once the large circles are sewn on; the fabric behind them needs to be removed or the piece will be too bulky. I have a pair of curved, blunt tipped applique scissors that work great. I think the most important thing is that they are blunt tipped so you don't have much of a risk of cutting the front of the circle.
Once the small circles are sewn on top of the large ones, I press them in stacks of 4 or 5 in preparation for cutting. 
All the circles are sewn on the background squares.
All the circles are sewn on the background squares.
Pressed and ready for cutting.
A wonderful tool that I have is called the Brooklyn Revolver, Made by "Come Quilt With Me" phone: 718-377-3652. The great thing about this is that you make the first cut and then just turn the revolver and make the second cut. It is so much faster and more accurate when I don't have to pick up the fabric and turn it.
A wonderful tool that I have is called the Brooklyn Revolver, Made by "Come Quilt With Me" phone: 718-377-3652. The great thing about this is that you make the first cut and then just turn the revolver and make the second cut. It is so much faster and more accurate when I don't have to pick up the fabric and turn it.
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