Sewing circular appliqués made easy
You need fabric circles for various sewing projects - for example, for the center of a Dresden Plate (we have a tutorial with a template for you here), for appliqués on cushions, or on children's clothing. And so that it looks handmade rather than homemade, there is a very simple trick you can use to sew perfect circles. I am going to introduce you to two methods. There are certainly many other ways to sew circles. These two variations are ones I have tested, and they work best for my sewing projects.Extra tip: Appliqué without sewing – is that even possible? Of course it is!
What you need if you want to sew a circular appliqué:
- Cotton fabric (we used a traditional Japanese Asanoha*)
- Iron
- Spray starch
- Aluminum foil
- Cardboard circle template
Sewing a circular appliqué - Method 1
- Place the circular template on the back of the fabric.
- Cut out the circle with a 1.5 - 2 cm (approx. 0.6 - 0.8 inch) seam allowance. It's better to have a bit too much than too little!
- Now spray the edge of the circle generously with spray starch.
- Iron over the fabric briefly on setting 3 to make it pliable.
- Place a piece of aluminum foil on the ironing board.
- Now lay the fabric, right side down, onto the aluminum foil.
- Center the template on top of it.
- Begin folding the still slightly damp fabric around the edge of the template.
- The aluminum foil ensures that the seam allowance stays in position.
- Work your way all around the circle.
- Press the foil firmly around the edge of the circle once more and iron the whole thing on setting 3.
- Only press the iron onto the foil, otherwise you might scratch the coating.
- To protect the iron, you can additionally place a kitchen towel underneath.
- Let the package cool down briefly.
- Then you can open it, remove the fabric, and iron it again without the template.
- And then you're ready to appliqué:
- Simply pin the circle onto the desired background and edgestitch it in place.
- Finished!
We experimented with different stitches. Our Janome has a quilting stitch that mimics a hand-sewn seam:
Sewing a circular appliqué - Method 2
For method 2, a cardboard circle of the required size is covered with aluminum foil. You can use it again and again; this method is significantly more resource-friendly than the first variation.
- Moisten the fabric well with spray starch to make the fibers pliable. This prevents wrinkles that might otherwise form along the edge.
- Let dry flat.
For this special task, my mini ironing board has once again proven its worth. Do you already know our tutorial, where I show how to build one yourself in just a few minutes? The ingenious mini iron* is a great match for it. This way, I always have everything right at hand while appliquéing and don't have to walk back and forth between the sewing machine and ironing board a dozen times. After some rather perilous early experiences, I treated myself to a silicone iron rest*. Now nothing can burn... ;)
Do you like our tutorial? Feel free to leave a comment :)
Happy simple sewing, your Sabine
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