Draw, Drop, Hoop, & Stitch

Having just done the Two Circles Squared [see previous post], I noticed that you end up with something akin to a framed canvas on the contrasting back piece. This made me wonder if I could use the center of the contrasting piece for a bit of embroidery. Rather than experimenting with hand embroidery, I chose to also attempt the regular sewing machine, free motion embroidery demonstrated by various YouTubers. 

First I chose a picture to trace/transfer onto the predetermined  four inch mid-section of  my eight inch contrasting circle. Having penciled it in, I dropped the feed dogs on my machine, and removed the presser foot, all the while reminding myself that the lever that lowers the foot must be lowered when stitching actually begins, due to tension issues. Next I hooped the fabric in an ordinary embroidery hoop, as tightly as I could manage. Then I set to "drawing" with the machine stitches, following the lines drawn. 

The resulting picture was fine for my purposes. It might have been better to stabilize the fabric prior to hooping, but for an experiment and first run, I was pleased.

Oh! And just for fun, here's a postcard my mail carrier left for us a year or so ago:

 Something inherently precious about a little girl mailing a missive, I suppose.

Two Circles Squared

The tutorial for this intriguing little bit of fabric magic didn't catch my eye until after the holidays, but decided to give it a try because 

1. It (end product) looked difficult. 
2. Sounded easy (per instructions)
3. Took next to nothing by way of fabric committed
4. Gave me a chance to TRY to justify having purchased a circle cutting ruler, not to mention all the Christmas-themed yardage I never brought myself to cut into. (Sigh. I have to get over that!)

Mine turned out a little wonky, but I think it was due to my lack of care in doing those final folds. 

This one was made using two 8 inch circles, which resulted in a 4 inch square.

1. joined face to face using 1/4 inch seam, leaving an inch and a half open for turning right side out
2. once circle is turned right side out, flattened and pressed, the 1.5 inch opening is closed off as a 1/8 inch top stitch is sewn around the perimeter.
3. the circle is then folded in half. The ends of the resulting "taco" are pinched to make a middle line just at those ends, which are then joined with two or three stitches (hand sewn)
4. rotate a halfway and bring the two other opposing side together to join as well. result should be something that looks kind of like a crab rangoon wrapper
5. flatten the "wrapper" centering the stitched end joins forming a square.
6. flip the petal-like extensions inside out and over the outer corners and even out for the finish.
7. the back side will be a square with contrasting corner tabs.

The video walk-through which served as my instruction may be found here: 

folded fabric ornament

I hope to give this a whirl with a smaller circle than my first run-through. Yes, I tend toward miniaturization. 

Related ideas for/with this:

• Use serger for the initial seam.
• Use finished square as a pocket for an apron or doll's dress
• Join several for a tree skirt.