Sewing circles can be accomplished several different ways. You can physically draw a circle on your fabric and then carefully follow that line in a freehand style with your sewing machine. You can also use an attachment for your machine that is usually screwed to the bed around the sewing foot. These range in price and can really stretch your wallet. I did a brief search and here are a few examples I found.
Another option is to use a template. I have designed one that will allow you to sew circles from 2 inches up to 20 inches. The concept isn't something I invented. In fact it has been around for quite some time, but I think you will like the simplicity of creating and using this one. The digital download is available in my store here.
One of the hardest things to do when sewing circles is getting them equally spaced; especially if you want to sew concentric circles that get bigger each round. A template and marking your center will make that a lot easier.
Here is the magic piece of equipment. A small tack or lapel pin and some masking tape. You can sew circles right now if you have these two tools. Just push the tack through the tape making sure the sticky side is facing the machine bed. Put the fabric over the tack and sew. One other important thing is to either interface your fabric or use a light tear away stabilizer. If your fabric is very soft or stretchy, it will tend to get pulled and distorted by the feed dogs. Then your circles won't be very symmetrical.
Why is the Sew Circles Template helpful if you know the tack and tape will work? Exact measurements and placement of your circles. Let's say you are sewing a quilt and you want to put circles in just the right spot. In fact you want to quilt the top using circles. Knowing where those will land and how big they need to be will make your finished project so much better.
You can also do applique on top of a project using a template. Just layer the base fabric and the applique fabric. Sew a circle, trim the fabric away then satin stitch around the edges all without removing the fabric from the machine. The template makes exact size and placement easier and quicker. In fact you can sew almost hands free.
Moving the tack to new size locations on the template is very easy with the masking tape. You can see I am lifting the template here, inserting the pin and then it will be placed on the machine bed for sewing. All you need to know is how big you want to sew your circle. Push the pin through the appropriate hole in the template and stitch. I bet you would enjoy sewing round pillows this way over trying to do them freehand. Just layer the two fabrics right sides together and sew around. Leave a small opening for turning. You could really get some projects done quickly.
If you are interested in how the Sew Circles Template is made, I have an instruction video below. It shows you all of the steps, how to calibrate the template to your particular machine foot, and a few sewing tips. Your creativity with it is unlimited. I hope you have enjoyed this post, share what you learn and are generous with what you create. Someone will appreciate your hard work.
