ESSENTIAL GUIDE
“Curves create movement in a design and this month we show you some ways of achieving the look of curves using only straight seams.”
– Lin Clements
CURVE ILLUSIONS
Creating a true curve or circular appearance in patchwork is achieved using curved seams, but it has to be admitted that curved seams take more preparation and effort than straight seams. We can, however, create the illusion of curves with only straight seams, as shown by the Snail Trail block, right. Sometimes it’s a nice surprise when we create a curved look by accident, by placing different blocks together and suddenly realising that a pleasing curve is formed. At other times we can deliberately aim to produce curves and experiment with different units to achieve this aim. In this article we will analyse this serendipity and look at ways we can intentionally create the appearance of curves using only a few simple units.
Mathematically, the difference between a square and a circle is determined by the number of sides and the angles created. In you can see that the more sides a shape has, the closer it becomes to a circle - from a four-sided square, increasing the number of sides until we achieve a multi-sided circle. I have only shown up to a ten-sided shape, but you get the idea. So, in practice, if we want to create the illusion of a
