Decadence Stitch-Along - Month 5 - Twenty Four Black Circles - Block 2 July 15 2019
It's July, hot humid Summer for many of us. Sitting by the pool with your EPP or sitting in air conditioning with your EPP, either way sounds good to me. We are in our fifth month of the Decadence SAL. I've seen some beautiful pictures posted. I enjoy seeing where you have changed some of my fabric choices. And I'm pleased to welcome, any time, anyone who is using their own fabric; it's so fun to see completely different fabric and color schemes; what a beautiful difference the final quilt will be. Keep posting, start posting, whenever.
- Did you see what Lindsey won last month? It was a package of 100 weight Invisafil thread spools, perfect for English Paper Piecing and for appliqué, truly invisible. If you are seeing your stitches, check it out.
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In item number 6 below, I explain my method of getting perfect circles. I highly recommend getting Karen K. Buckley's Perfect Circles in both the small circle package and the large circle package. If you do any appliqué, they are a must have. Today, however, we are using card stock circles because we need so many circles.
I have titled July's Round "Twenty-Four Black Circles," hmm, do you wonder why. Today we are using Helen Stubbing's In The Rounds #2.
FABRICS USED IN THIS MONTH'S ROUND ARE:
- Brit Boutique
- B&W Stripe
- B&W Houndstooth
- Black with Large Floral (for solid black circles)
- Background Fabric
Also included is a pack of 3/4" circles.
FABRIC CHOICES AND FUSSY CUTS
1) The center is a double Dresden.
We will start with the center's outside 30-degree pointed Dresden, which is cut from the B&W Stripe. Place one black stripe in the center of each pointed Dresden piece. The picture below shows the placement of this piece on the fabric. These will be sewn together creating a wreath. The appliqué will be explained later.
YOU WILL NEED TO LOCATE THIS SPOT ON THE BACK OF THE FABRIC.
YOU WILL IRON THE INTERFACE TO THIS SPOT ON THE BACK OF THE FABRIC.
YOU WILL CUT WITH A SEAM ALLOWANCE APPROXIMATELY 1/4" BEYOND THE INTERFACE.
Cut 12 of the 30-degree pointed Dresdens from the B&W Stripe fabric.
2) Next, we will do the 30-degree Curved Dresden. This is cut from the Brit Boutique fabric. The first picture below shows the area of the fabric to cut from and second picture below shows the placement of this piece on the fabric.These will be sewn together creating a wreath.
YOU WILL NEED TO LOCATE THIS SPOT ON THE BACK OF THE FABRIC.
YOU WILL IRON THE INTERFACE TO THIS SPOT ON THE BACK OF THE FABRIC.
YOU WILL CUT WITH A SEAM ALLOWANCE APPROXIMATELY 1/4" BEYOND THE INTERFACE.
Cut 12 of the 30-degree curved Dresdens from the Brit Boutique fabric.
3) The final piece in the center is a simple 1-1/2" circle made from the B&W Houndstooth fabric. Below is a picture of a cutting placement. You may cut your circle any way you please.
YOU WILL NEED TO LOCATE THIS SPOT ON THE BACK OF THE FABRIC.
YOU WILL IRON THE INTERFACE TO THIS SPOT ON THE BACK OF THE FABRIC.
YOU WILL CUT WITH A SEAM ALLOWANCE APPROXIMATELY 1/4" BEYOND THE INTERFACE.
Cut one circle and carefully, a little bit at a time, glue your seam allowance around your circle. If you are not gluing, you can gather your seam allowance around your interface.
4) The outside circle is cut from the Brit Boutique fabric. You will be cutting 12 of the pieces facing left and 12 of the piecing facing right. When joined together they make a new design. This is the sort of thing I enjoy about fussy cutting, when you can create an unexpected design. The first picture below shows the area of the fabric you will be cutting from. The second and third pictures show the left facing and the right facing pieces.
YOU WILL NEED TO LOCATE THIS SPOT ON THE BACK OF THE FABRIC.
YOU WILL IRON THE INTERFACE TO THIS SPOT ON THE BACK OF THE FABRIC.
YOU WILL CUT WITH A SEAM ALLOWANCE APPROXIMATELY 1/4" BEYOND THE INTERFACE.
First sew your left and right facing pieces into sets matching the tall design. Then sew these doubles together matching the low design. You will have a wreath of 24 pieces.
5) Now we will appliqué the wreaths together onto our background fabric. Find the center point of your fabric. Place a point of the striped Dresden toward the North, East, South and West. Pin and then baste this Dresden, centered on the background. By pinning first you have the opportunity to move something that is a little off. Then baste; I like to baste close to the outside edge and close to the center hole.
Next we will pin and then baste the curved Brit Boutique Dresden. Line it up so that every section of the curved Dresden wreath is centered in a section of the pointed Dresden wreath. Refer to the picture of my Round above.
Make sure your double wreath is still centered on your background by measuring each of four sides. Appliqué your wreath to the background. Appliqué your Brit Boutique wreath to the striped wreath. Place your 1-1/2" Houndstooth circle in the center and appliqué it in place.
The large Brit Boutique circle will be centered around your center piece. The picture on the front of your pattern shows very little space between the two. I had extra space, I'm not sure why. It seems that either way is correct. Pin and baste this circle in place.
6) And for today's fun, you will be making 24 black circles. The circles are cut from the black areas of the Large Black Floral Fabric. Cut in areas you have already cut holes, so that you do not interfere with any future flower cuts. Cut approximately 3/16th's of a seam allowance around your circle. Otherwise, you will have too much bulk behind this little circle.
You may use the interface circles included with your pattern. Or, included in your monthly mailing is a package of 3/4" circles. A photo of the circle pack is below. I find that I can get a more perfect circle with the stiffer card stock circle.
First, make a very tiny hole in the center of the card stock, approximately the size of poking it with a pen. Be sure it is tiny so that your circle does not become lopsided when you pull your thread tight. Run tiny basting stitches around the circle as shown in the first picture below. Tightly pull your basting thread up and around a card stock circle and secure the thread as shown in the second picture below. Iron the finished circle, adjusting any slight points around it. I leave the card stock in when I appliqué circles so that the edges stay perfectly round. Now position and pin each circle in the dip between points of your outer wreath. Appliqué your circles.
After I have completed the appliqué of all the circles, I VERY CAREFULLY cut a small hole in the background fabric behind each circle and pull the card stock out with a blunt tool. I use a thick stiletto. Below are two pictures illustrating my technique. These circles are time consuming but worth the effort when they turn out perfect.
JULY BLOCK, ROUND #2 IS FINISHED.
Don't forget to post your progress on Instagram and/or Facebook with #DecadenceSAL. I wonder what prize Jen has up her sleeve this month. The Invisafil thread package prize last month had SIX spools of thread, and Lindsey got to select which color pack she wanted. So keep posting, next time, it could be you.
AND REMEMBER, DON'T HESITATE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS. SMILES......CAROLYN