Adding circular motifs to your quilting can give fabulous results. The perfect symmetry of a circle really draws the eye and the circle itself can be a container for beautiful free motion quilting. But quilting a perfect circle can be a bit challenging. That’s where quilting with circle rulers comes in!

I have so much fun quilting with rulers. The designs you can create with a simple ruler can be beautiful, intricate, and inspiring. This year I’m writing a series of articles for Quiltmaker Magazine and APQS all about machine quilting with rulers. My latest article was recently published in the September/October issue of Quiltmaker and it’s available here.

How to Hold a Circle Ruler

Before I shared my quilting designs, we had to talk about how to actually quilt with a circle ruler. These rulers can be a little trickier to work with than your typical straight edged ruler. But don’t let that scare you away. In the article I discuss what kinds of circle rulers I prefer – it varies depending on the size circle I want. I also share my tips for how to hold the ruler and where to apply pressure with the hopping foot to keep those circles symmetrical.

Circle Designs in a Medallion Quilt

This issue of Quiltmaker was highlighting medallion quilts. These quilts are perfect for circle motifs because they typically have a beautiful center block with borders framing it. For the article I created my own medallion wall hanging to show you how to use circle rulers in blocks and borders. For these articles it’s really important to me to include designs for all skill levels. Looking at the quilt and the worksheets linked to in the student packet, you’ll notice some of the borders are really simple. The Arches and Diamonds border in particular is a great beginner friendly border that can be quilted with circle rulers. Be sure to check out the full article and the downloadable student packet to see all the designs I used in the quilt!

Interested in trying out circle rulers? We have a variety of circle rulers available in our online store. And I would love to see your work too! Join me in the Quilted Joy Clubhouse on Facebook and share your quilts with the supportive community!