Making a circular porthole

Learn the basics of making perfect portholes with a simple circular shape, then show off your new skills and take them to the next level with Kate’s super cute ‘HOPE’ mini quilt!

Portholes, or reverse appliqué, allow you to add small windows in your design to showcase feature fabrics. It is a relatively quick technique as it is sewn on the machine, produces neat edges (no raw edges in sight!) and keeps your treasured fabric designs whole.

1 Cut a square of background fabric measuring 1in larger than the finished block size you want to achieve. Cut a square of lining fabric 1–2in larger than the circle you would like to create. Please note, although your lining should be hidden, choose a colour that blends with the background in case any edges peek through. In our example here, Kate uses a 6in square of background fabric, a 5in square of lining fabric and a 3½in diameter circle template.

2 Trace the circle onto the wrong side of the lining fabric using a disappearing fabric pen (Fig A). Place right sides together with the background fabric, centring the two pieces (Fig B).

3 Machine stitch all the way along the drawn line (Fig C). Use a thread matching your background fabric, and a small stitch length to create a smooth curve around the circle. Remove any remaining pen marks.

4 Cut out the centre of both layers of fabric, leaving a 1/ in seam allowance inside the stitched circle. Clip into the curved seam allowance all the way around, making sure not to cut into the stitches (Fig D).

5 Push the lining fabric layer through the centre hole, so the fabrics are wrong sides together, and gently roll the edges with your fingers so the lining is completely hidden. Press, taking care to ensure the lining fabric is not showing through your porthole.

6 Place the porthole over a square of your chosen feature fabric and pin in place around the edges to hold in place. Topstitch 1/ 8in from the edge of the porthole to secure in place (Fig E). Make sure you match the colour of the topstitching thread to your background fabric. As you stitch, lift the presser foot regularly and smooth the design to prevent puckers and distortion of the circle.

7 Carefully trim away any excess lining and feature fabric on the reverse, leaving at least a ¼in seam allowance. Take care not to cut into your background fabric (Fig F).

8 Trim your block to the required size. Kate trimmed this block to 5in square, ensuring the porthole was centred on the block.

Making a non-circular porthole Sewing non-circular holes

9 You don’t need to restrict yourself just to circular portholes, as you can create a variety of shapes including the letters that Kate used in the mini quilt. Follow the same process explained in steps 1– 8, taking extra care with trimming the centre fabric as given in steps 10–12 below. This will make turning the lining fabric through to the wrong side much easier.

10

For outer corners of non-circular shapes, cut a small wedge in the seam allowance, using a pair of small, sharp scissors. Snip to within one or two threads of your stitched line, as shown in Fig G.

11

For inner corners, trim across the corner. Then trim the seam allowance to 1/ 8in near the corner (Fig H). Also trim the seam allowance for any areas protruding into the shape for a smooth finish (Fig I).

12

When turning the lining through, take extra care to push all the corners right through. Use a narrow, blunt-ended tool such as a knitting needle or chopstick to adjust the corners, ensuring the lining is turned completely to the wrong side.

Making your own templates to suit your fabric

13

Choose a feature fabric (see p74 for details of Kate’s choice of fabric) and identify an area you want to highlight with the reverse appliqué. Place a piece of template plastic or tracing paper over the area and trace around the design. The key to getting a good finish is drawing a simplified shape, eliminating sharp angles or difficult details from the outline. Kate recommends leaving a fabric allowance approx ¼in larger than your design (Figs J– K).

14

Cut your template out, and use to sew your shaped porthole following steps 1–12. Make sure your lining fabric is at least 2in larger than your template.