Wedge Topper Tutorial-picture heavy

Wow I was surprised by how many of you said that you would love a tutorial on the wedge toppers I posted last week!  So here it is. Now I am no expert on writing tutorials so don't 'boooo' me to badly!! If anyone has any questions please leave me a comment so I can help you out.

First let me say this is just my dimensions I used to obtain the size topper I wanted. There are patterns out there for tree skirts and I just thought I could scale things down and make this one bigger or this one smaller to get the size I wanted.

This is the topper I will share with you today. It measures 30" in diameter.

You have to make 2 strip sets-in the picture below you see how wide I cut mine, this is the width of fabric(WOF).  Cut 2 of everything except the brown 1.5" ones you will need 4.

Sew your strips together staggering them by 1/4". If you don't do this it's ok, you will still have enough fabric :-)

 This is how your strip set will look sewn together. It should measure 12.5". I like to use a scant 1/4" seam to make the strip set.

 Press the seams to one direction and do the very same to both strip sets(this way your seams will nestle when sewing the wedges together).

Now you are ready to cut your wedges. Both strip sets will be cut the same so lay them the same way, but only cut one set at a time for accuracy.  Please IGNORE my green tape on the wedge ruler (it's for another project).  Using Cheryl Phillips 10 degree wedge ruler you will cut 18 pairs of wedges for a total of 36 to make a complete circle.


Place your wedge ruler on the fabric with the small end toward you. Cut on both sides of the ruler.

Now turn the ruler around so the wide end is toward you and from now on you will only need to cut on the one side of the ruler. Notice how you have 2 different wedges now(this is a pair).  Continue cutting and turning the ruler using both strip sets until you have 18 of each

 Here are 2 pair

Now take the stacks of 18 in each and sew into pairs.  I like to press once I have them all together in a circle.

Notice how the seams nest together.  Once you have the pairs sewn, then sew 2 pr. together and keep going until you have attached all 36 wedges and sew the first wedge to the last wedge to complete your circle.

I like to press now from the back first using a dry iron. Gently moving my iron around in the circle pressing them all the same way. Be careful as this is pretty stretchy, reminds me of an accordion! Once they are all pressed I give it a little steam and go around again carefully.  Then turn it over and steam the front, making sure you don't have any pleats in any of the seams.

Ooops I got distracted for a second watching Bambi saunter through our back yard.

Ok back to our topper, here is what it should look like now, yep a big hole in the center is just what you want.  Measure that hole and add at least an inch, more is better in this case.  

I cut a 6.5" circle of fabric and one of light weight fusible interfacing using my Olfa circle cutter.

Be sure to place the fusible side of the interfacing to the right side of the fabric then sew around it using a small stitch to get a uniform circle. Then cut a slit in the interfacing and turn.

I like to use a rounded pointy dowel rod to smooth out the edges very carefully, you don't want to poke any holes.

Center it over the hole and place an applique sheet under it so you don't fuse the circle to your ironing surface. Fuse in place and applique your favorite way.








And your topper is ready to quilt and bind. Be sure to use a bias binding and remember don't stretch the binding while applying it to the front, after all that work you want your topper to lay nice and flat!
Oh wait I didn't mean work-it's fun right!!  Go ahead and get creative in your fabric selection and be sure to let me know if you make one.   AND if anyone has a question just let me know!  Hope you enjoy the tutorial.

 I'll be linking up with several of the wonderful inspiring linky parties on my left side bar.