Quiltifications: Freezer Paper Circles

Not everyone appliques, I know this. Not all applique-ers make their own patterns, I realize this too.

But circles? Come on! Even some non-quilting seamstresses (seamsters?) have need for the ocassional circle template.

I've found a reliable way to make them. We all know about freezer paper. You can draw whatever shape you want on it, cut out the shape, iron it (shiny side TOWARDS the fabric, not towards the iron. Don't ask me how I know this, it's too humiliating) onto the fabric, cut around the shape, adding a seam allowance, and press. Voila!

The problem with circles is they really need to be just about perfect in order to keep your finished applique from looking sadly lopsided.

The problem with circles is they are really hard to freehand draw.

The problem with circles is they are really hard to even trace.

So enter the printer. I have this really cool program called Graph Paper Printer (remember, my mild mannered alter-ego is that of a mathmatician) which you can find HERE or HERE if you don't already have it. The user friendly menu driven software creates circles quite simply in any size you want. It is SUPER accurate. (it also makes hexagons, equilateral triangles, and the more traditional rectangles. music tabs too!)

But alas, I got too clever for my own good. YOU try running a piece of freezer paper through a printer. Go on, I'll stand way over here (pointing) and I'll try not to laugh too loud.

There is a solution (or I wouldn't be blogging about it, duh!). If you stack a piece of plain paper on top of the shiny side of a piece of freezer paper, load it into the printer, hit print, and as soon as the printer starts to take up the paper, PULL THE PLAIN PAPER OUT OF THE PRINTER, the printer will pull up your freezer paper smoothly and print your circle crisp and clean.