Materials:

" Thumb tack, strong tape, small cork
          or Circular Sewing Device for your machine

" Wonder Marker

" TearAway Stabilizer
          or Rins-Away Stabilizer for items to be washed

" Fabric

Procedure for two sided circles:

1. Do a name, design, or anything you'd like to frame in a circle or make into a patch, on a piece of fabric at least 1" larger than the finished circle will be. If you want a design on the back, you do two like this. Mark the center with the Wonder Marker. If the fabric is cotton or lighter weight, you'll need to interface it, or fuse it to the stabilizer you'll put in the center (step 3).
2. Measure out from the needle to where you want to put the thumb tack. This should be directly out to the side, and half the diameter of the circle you're doing. (For example, if you want a 5" circle, you put the tack at 2 1/2". Or if you have an attachment, you set it to half your diameter.) Whether you put the tack to the right or left of the needle will depend on the space you have on both sides of it and the size your want the circle to be. The fabric must be able to turn easily as you sew. Tape the thumb tack in place with the strong tape. (If you have an extension table or have your machine in a cabinet, you can go farther to the left for larger circles.)
3. Find the center of the back piece, and gently push it on the tack, wrong side up. Push a piece of stabilizer over the tack next. Then gently push the front over the tack, centering it, right side up. Slide it so that the grains of the top and bottom fabrics are diagonal to each other to minimize stretching. Put the cork on top of the thumb tack for your own protection and to hold the fabric in place. Don't push it down too hard.
4. Reduce your presser foot pressure a number or so. Put the same thread in the bobbin as in the top, and set your machine for a straight stitch. Start sewing and the fabric will turn as you stitch. When you get back to the start, set the machine for a zig zag about 1 /12 long and 1 wide. Sew all the way around again. Carefully remove the piece and trim next to the stitching to cut out your circle.
5. Put it back on, being sure to get the tack in the same hole, and set your zig zag wider (to just drop off the edge of the fabric, and closer together but not quite a satin stitch. Stitch all the way around. Do a second stitching, slightly wider, and closer together to be sure to enclose any "feathers" left on the edges. You may even do a third time if necessary, if the edges haven't been stretched out too much.

You can make ornaments this way, putting a design from your sewing machine on the front and a dedication and the date on the back. If you don't have a machine that does larger designs, you can use a printed fabric as the front. You can put a child's name on the front and "Happy Easter" or "Merry Christmas" and the date on the back. You can also do decorative stitching as shown in the example above.