Crop Circles

Crop Circles

 Download Crop Circles Supply list here.

I was inspired by a pattern I saw in a magazine several years ago by Jen Bailley, Turbines. I altered and adjusted how I created this quilt to use templates and trimming to make everything fit together for me. The circles and lines reminded me of crop circles in the fields that you see flying over.

This can be made by a confident sewist and combines careful cutting and sewing quarter inch seams All seams are pressed open. Blocks are trimmed at each step along the way for accuracy.

Mine is made with 6” drunkard path blocks but I could see larger or smaller units working as well. Mine is made in a 5 x 5 layout but anything goes. A small wallhanging at 2 x 2 or 4 x 4 or a larger quilt would all work. Mine is scrappy but it could be planned in 2 or three color ways, a rainbow or values light to dark.

Supply List – Crop Circles

Sewing machine with ¼’’ foot   Do not use a foot with a metal edge for your ¼”

Neutral thread, seam ripper

Drunkards path templates – 6’’

Large square ruler – 12 or 12 ½” Ruler at least 12” long (by 3-4”)

Straight narrow flower head pins or very fine glass head pins

Labels or pins to mark rows

Rotary cutter (45mm)

Ironing ham for open seams

Tweezers

Design wall or something to layout blocks on

NOTE: I am giving you instructions for the larger (5 x 5) quilt and the smaller 3 x 3. We will start them in class and your choice for which one to do

Larger Crop Circle (5 x 5 blocks)

Background: 3 1/2 yd (recommend a solid or solid reading)

Fabrics for circles: 5 ½” squares

I used an assortment of 5 colors with a variety of prints, ranging from black, dark & light gray to dark blue, light and medium blue, and light and medium green. All were fat quarters or quarter yard measurements. You can substitute any colors for the following. Pull from your stash.

Inset strips were created with 1” x WOF (2 strips) in 7 fabrics to contrast with the main blocks.

Precutting:5 x 5 version

Cut 7” strips from background (4 to start is enough)

Inner blocks 5 ½’’ x 5 ½’’

22 – black

19 - grays

16 - dark blue

19 - light blue

24 – greens

3 x 3 Crop Circle Version Fabric Supply

Background -2 yards (should read as a solid)

5 ½” squares ranging from light to dark – total of 36 but you should bring extra. I used a variety of 13-15 prints ranging from light to dark

¼ yard of 2-3 fabrics for inset strips

Precutting:

Cut background into 7” strips.

Cut 5 ½” squares from a variety of your fabrics.