One Piece at a Time

Workshop Wednesday: Circles

I hope everyone is enjoying the first block in the BOM. Here is my tried and true method for making circles!

Place your circle template on the wrong side of your chosen fabric and trace. Cut out a scant 1/4'' from your drawn line.

I use Karen Kay Buckley's Perfect Circles here. You can find them here:

https://www.karenkaybuckley.com/store.php?cat=2

Stitch around your circle, in the seam allowance, using a running stitch. You don't need to be fussy about thread here since it won't show.

Place the template on the wrong side and pull your thread to gather the seam allowance.

Dab a bit of starch on your circle.

Place the iron on top of it and press until dry. Yes! You can just leave it on there while you stitch another circle…just don't forget it.

Pop your template out and pull the thread gently and there you go! A perfect circle!

Share your progress on Instagram

I would love to see everyone's progress! If you are on Instagram use #appliqueaddicts to share!

 

Home Again Block 1…..Ta Da!!!!

Hello Applique Addicts! Here it is…Block 1! I'm having so much fun doing this again.

I'm starting us off with the easy blocks so everyone can get up to speed with their applique.

The blocks in the quilt pictured here are 7" finished. You can download the 7" version here:

Download Home Again Block 1-7 inch

If you want to do 9" blocks I have that too. Here is a link to the 9" block:

Download Home Again Block 1-9 inch

If you want to do the medallion version you can find the center block here:

appliqueaddicts.patternbyetsy.com/listing/761410657/home-again

If you are making the version with 9" blocks you will need a 27" block. My pattern Miss Mimi would work perfectly.

There will be finishing directions for both Medallion versions and both free versions at the end of the year.

Have a nice weekend!

Get Ready! Tomorrow Block 1 is coming!

Workshop Wednesday: A Simple Flower

Now that we have our simple leaves down let's move on to flowers. This simple flower is a great way to introduce inner points! It's also featured in a couple of blocks in the Home Again BOM.

Once you have made your template and cut out your fabric shape, clip all your inner point. You don't need to cut all the way to the drawn line, just close.

I like to start by pressing the inner points first. Apply a little starch and press until you have all the points turned.

Next start working on the outer curve. I like to hold the fabric like this while I apply starch.

Then press a little bit at a time until you have pressed the whole curve. Small increments help keep everything smooth!

Your shape will look like this when you are done! Be sure to remove your template!

Workshop Wednesday: Templates and a Simple Leaf

SO! Let's get started making applique shapes! The simple leaf is a great place to start.

I use starch and heat resistant template plastic to pre-make all my applique shapes. The template plastic I like is called Templar. You can find it at (and many wonderful notions):

karenkaybuckley.com

I use Sta-Flo starch concentrate for my starch. I'm really allergic to pretty much anything scented so this is my go-to product. There are many great products out there so experiment and see what you like. I dilute my starch to about 1 tablespoon per 1/2 cup but, also, experiment and see what works for you. You want to make sure your applique shapes are not so stiff that you can't sew through them!

 

Here's the process:

Trace your shape onto the heat resistant template plastic.

Cut the shape out.

Check to see if you have any lumps from cutting.

File these away so that your curves are smooth.

Trace your shape onto the wrong side of your fabric and cut out a scant 1/4'' from the drawn line.

Using a small brush, apply starch to the seam allowance of one side of your leaf.

Gently lift the edge with your brush.

Start pressing and your edge toward the back of the template. Gradually press so you have the whole edge turned. Hint: The tighter the curve the smaller the pressing increments.

Once you have one side done do the other side. For smaller leaves I hold both ends like this.

Your shape should look like this.

If you want to, you can bend those point to the back and starch them in place (sorry this picture isn't great).

Remove the template and you are ready to go!

Workshop Wednesday: Tiny Stems

Want to make your applique designs really stand out? One trick I've found is making my stems as tiny as possible. When I look at how my quilts have progressed over the years the first thing I notice is my smaller and smaller stems. But tinier stems are a bit trickier so here are the steps I use to make them easier.

 

I like to use bias bars for my stems. I like this method because the extra fabric gives the stem some nice dimension. Here I am using my metal bias bars that I have had FOREVER. You can't find these in 1/8" anymore but Karen Kay Buckley's Perfect Stems are terrific. All her products are! You can find them here:

www.karenkaybuckley.com/store

For 1/8" stems I cut a 1" bias strip.

To make the stitching easier I press these in half with an iron. The fold will come out when we do our final pressing.

Then I sew 1/8" from the fold. This can take some concentration!

Next, trim right up close to that stitching.

Insert your bias bar and rotate the fabric so the seam is along the flat side.

I spritz these with water and iron.

Here's the stem with the bias bar removed. Pretty tiny and with no fuss!