these are some Bullseye quilts i've made over the years. they're quite fun to make and not as complicated as they look. i love the soft, raw edge look - and everything about them is artsy, loose and not precise!! hooray!
when i'm making one, i always think about our perfectionist-quilter-greats turning over in their graves... {giggle}
you can be really creative and use all kinds of variations, for instance- adding doilies for some of the circle layers, make them square, heart-shaped... i've even seen 4 leaf clovers done! i called my square one that i did, primarily 40's fabrics 'Hopscotch.' these are throw size, queen and king. i made the king size for our 22nd anniversary. not that my husband appreciated that at all... tee-he. if you look close at the 2nd down on the right photo you can see our names, etc. quilted right into the pattern. i've machine quilted all of them myself except for the king. turns out it's too heavy to even sleep under... but it's purdy hanging around the house.
... the funny thing about this quilt process is that once you start this, the fabric procreates. as you layer these circles, you flip the block over and cut out the back fabric so it doesn't become bulky. you end up with piles of circles... to make more Bullseyes with. or yo-yos, or ...etc.
depending on the quilt size you want, {based upon -approximately- a 9" finished block} you'll prepare 10", 8", 6", and 4" squares of your chosen fabric selection. choose equal numbers of dark, medium and light. {or ...?} if you don't want many repeating fabrics - you're going to need a very large number of fabrics. of course several will repeat, because in the end- a block is quartered and mixed up into other blocks.
so- here we go! starting with a 10" square of fabric, you'll layer on an 8' circle you've cut freehand by folding an 8" square in half, then quarters and -yep, cut! eyeball it! the fun part is the in-precision. if you can't bring yourself to do that, make a template quarter circle for 8", 6" and 4" circles. i've done it both ways. you're hardly cutting any fabric away at all... just enough to make that square a circle.
center this 8" circle on the 10" square. sew it on, leaving a fat 1/4" seam allowance. the raw edges of the circles will always be on top - forever! {i recommend using really good fabric that won't fray too, too much. trust me on this! ahem...} also, use a small stitch length... not too tiny, but small. start at 12, 3, 6, or 9 o'clock PM. just kidding. on the circle. because this is where you'll end up quartering these blocks and your stops and starts won't show!
now flip it over, pick up a pucker of the fabric inside the circle so you can start a little snip, about 1/4" or so from the seam... and cut the inside of the circle out {the back of the square}. again, this is to reduce bulk in the long run. see? your fabric is procreating already. if you're doing this with a group of friends and including libations, you can be sure the wrong piece will be cut out at least a few times... grin.
flip it over, repeat with the 6" circle. flip it over, snip... flip it over, repeat with the 4" circle. no need to cut out the backs of the 4" unless you're absolutely crazy about this procreation thing. i never have. below, you can see the back of a block with the circles cut out... {by the way, you can click on the photo for a larger view}.
repeat, repeat, repeat. and then...
this is the fun part! square them up {eyeballing} on a cutting mat... {you could actually cut-square-them up now- but i wouldn't bother} :o) ...why? just find the center lines. i personally think these are far cuter when they're 'off'... anyway - quarter them. then, you're going to want to take some care as you choose quarters to create your block... light/dark or light/medium.
or, ok... thinking of a completely different look, monotone if you want. and solid colors... could be cool. amish colors, for instance.
i like to do the matching up of quarters {a block at a time} and then just sew a long, continuous stream of 'halves' -but in perfect placement, ready to snip threads before and after each intended block -so that i can just flip the two halves together and sew the block.
when you're piecing these, the key is to lock or notch the two opposing center seams and the top center edges together. where the circles join-or don't, as the case may be... at 12,3, 6, and 9 o'clock do not matter. as for those spots you do want to match up- sometimes you can hold these in place, but pin if necessary.
you could also, with some advanced brainstorming, create some really cool patterns- such as Drunkard's Path, etc. here. i'm not going there. but the sky is literally the limit here. or close to.
once you've got the blocks all together:
time to iron. magic sizing is a wonderful thing here... makes the blocks and seams slightly crisp and easier to work with. once they're all ironed, square them up now if you want to... i didn't... notice how the seams allowances lay... after ironing.
if i were an engineer, i would understand the 'science' to making each seam allowance lay exactly right so that in piecing - every joint would slide/lock right in to the next one for joining. kind of like tongue and groove. i've seen it happen, but not in my quilts. it happens, but randomly.
then, take them to the floor {or your big flannel design wallboard if you're lucky} and start placing, re-positioning and re-placing blocks until you think you'll go mad.
if you're a perfectionist, you may have already gone mad, but this process of positioning the blocks may take years... :o)
finally, you just have to surrender.
when you're ready to go ahead and start piecing them... my method of taking rows of blocks to the machine -all at once- without them getting mixed up is this: place one straight pin in the top corner of each row's first block...
then in the last block of each ...row i place in the bottom corner a corresponding number of pins; one pin in row one, two pins in row two... make a stack of each row, first on top to last on bottom.
don't laugh! too late?
when you have a helper like i do - this method is both preventative and effective. she shows up during this process with-out-fail!
voila!
i leave the pins in until the rows are done... just so i know they're going together right. things happen...
i like to add a 1/4" flange -a tiny little border, and then a wider one. next comes sandwiching with batting, backing, machine quilting... binding... wash/dry... cuddle. presto schmucko. go for it.
will update with photo of finished product... eventually.
looking at this photo right now, i see an oopsie right away that i wish i had seen before. well, ...oopsie!
if you make one of these quilts, please send me a photo!
i am not aware of the origin of this 'pattern' ...or of a copyright.
happy bullseye-ing!
jpb
ps- i never pre-wash my fabric. and always use all one kind of fabric in a quilt. aaaand... polyester thread could ... eventually -tear cotton fabric. use cotton thread!
