Sew Mama Sew is a wonderful blog and there are some excellent tutorials. But there is a particular tutorial that I want to heighten awareness of today and that is Sew Mama Sew's tutorial for making a Dresden Plate
This tutorial does a great job showing how to make a traditional Dresden Plate, using traditional paper templates, but I also love that it follows a traditional "balanced" design with 20 petals (5 petals in each block).
If you want to make a Dresden Plate quilt this is a great tutorial for reference. If you are using the AccuQuilt die to make a Dresden Quilt, I've not yet had the opportunity to make a Dresden Plate quilt with an AccuQuilt, but I've seen a variety of bloggers sharing mixed results, showing Dresden Plates with 20, 21 or 22 petals.
Terrie Sandelin, of Bits & Pieces, has an excellent tutorial showing how she used the AccuQuilt GO! to make a perfectly balanced Dresden plate, with 20 petals. Thus, I'm inclined to think that those that have made Dresden Plates with 21 or 22 petals, or complained about this die, need to verify they are sewing with a 1/4" seam.
Jo (Jo's Country Junction) has a tutorial to make a very cute Dresden Plate Dish Towel. And, in addition to Jo's inspirational tutorial she also has a great video on youtube:
On the other hand, Jo does share a tutorial for making a very cute Dresden Plate Candle Mat using the AccuQuilt GO! where she was able to do a rounded Dresden plate with 20 petals, but when using pointed petals she needed 21 petals.
Yet Mandy (Simply Solids) has a great tutorial to make the Dresden Plate, using the AccuQuilt GO, with twenty (20) perfect points.
SewCindy also shared inspirational insights on making the Dresden Plate using the AccuQuilt GO! and even used some fun strip piecing techniques to give this design a more pieced look.
And Ariane (Ariane's Crafts) also created a tutorial to make perfect 20 petal Dresden Plates using the AccuQuilt GO!
And AccuQuilt created this youtube video that shares insights on the Dresden plate die and shares that the rounded petals need 20 petals to make a 12" circle yet the pointed petals need 22 to create a 13.5" inch circle and that you can also make circles with a combination of the rounded petals and the pointed petals.
I'm definitely confused now. While I know many quilters expressed that they couldn't get their Dresden Plates to lay flat, when using the AccuQuilt die, unless they used 21 or 22 petals, and this AccuQuilt video provides their insight on the number of petals (which does create an unbalanced Dresden plate with the pointed petals), how did so many quilters get the Dresden Plate to work with 20 pointed petals?
The book Fancy to Frugal: Authentic Quilt Patterns from the '30s", by Kay Connors and Karen Earlywine, published by Martingale & Company, Home of That Patchwork Place, also does an excellent job sharing insights on Dresden Plates, which are all perfectly balanced with 20 petals.
And Eleanor Burns/Quilt in a Day has a variety of books, patterns and templates that all create perfectly balanced Dresden plates.
I must confess that while I've made Dresden Plates before, I've not yet used the AccuQuilt die for this design. My logic tells me that the die should result in the same balanced quadrants if there are rounded or pointed petals, or a blend. And, if you follow the tutorials, videos, books, patterns on making this design you should also end up with a balanced Dresden Plate. But, I'm leaning to believe this die should be able to create a balanced 20 petal Dresden Plate for both the rounded and the pointed petal, as well as any mix of the rounded & pointed petal that one wants to use. If not, I'll stand on my perspective that if a Dresden Plate doesn't have balanced petals there is either a design flaw or the quilter needs to check their 1/4" seams and try a scant 1/4" seam.
I'd love to hear your insights on the Dresden Plate, these tutorials, and definitely experiences with the AccuQuilt die for this design. But, ultimately, do you think it is ok for a Dresden Plate to have an unbalanced number of petals in each quadrant?
16 comments:
Great post with lots of great links and tutorials to look at. I particularly love the tutorial on Sew Mama Sew by Elizabeth H. To me, it's Dresden perfection :-)
This is a wonderful post. I gave the die back to my niece, I just didn't have the time to work with it. I was hoping to but didn't.
Nice post - Almost a total coincidence, as I posted a tutorial relative to a Dresden plate quilt I am stitching right now. It is posted here...http://quiltsoflove.blogspot.com/
Mine is a blade Dresden with 12 pieces.
Margaret Gunn
msolomo1@maine.rr.com
I have this die on order. Thanks for all the links. I think Paulette is linked to Mandy's site.
Interesting timing on this subject. Yesterday three of us were talking about some of the Accuquilt dies. My friend had discovered that the single cut half-square triangle dies do not measure the same as the multiple cut ones of the "same" size. Regarding the Dresden Plates, I would expect that most of the discrepancies are due to seam allowances, but I wonder if point vs curve varies in cut size any. Thanks for all the info compiled in one post. Sarah
I handed out Dresden blades that I cut with my Accuquilt die to my bee members this month. Sample I made, with a pointed end, worked with 20 blades, but one member of my group had to use 21. I think that not sewing with an accurate 1/4 inch seam allowance is what is causing some people problems. How Accuquilt came up with 22 blades is a mystery.
Thanks for sharing some great tutorials with us. Wish I had an Accuquilt cutter but I do have a great ruler that I use for Dresden Plates. I even blogged about it a couple of days ago. The EZ Dresden ruler is great and gives you 20 perfect points for the plate. I didn't do a full tutorial, but did include the basics of the steps on my blog.
Thanks so much Darlene!! Loved seeing everyone's Dresden and lost of great discussions. Here's the correct link to my blog...just in case someone wants to visit...I have the coffee on...
Paulette
http://sweetp-paulette.blogspot.com/2011/06/buttonbutton.html
When I did a perfect (I think) top to bottom quarter inch seam, my resulting Dresden did not lie flat. As I show on my tutorial (linked above), I increased the width of the seam allowance just a WEE bit towards the bottom of the blade and then I wound up with perfectly flat Dresdens. I'm not sure about 22 blades. I'd worry that the center circle wouldn't fit. Hmmm. Has anyone sewn this up with twenty-two blades? For the record, I like twenty blades -- you can go scrappy or play with alternating two colors or do groupings of 5.
Okay, pay attention, Terrie. I see one of the links is for a 22 blade Dresden. Also very pretty! But it's a mystery how all of these different blade numbers would work. For the record, the sketches of Dresden Plates that come with the packaging all show 20 blade plates, whether they are pointed, rounded, or a combination of the two.
I love a dresden plate too....they are beautiful. I've only done them by hand and don't have the die....I'm interested in hearing what others have to say that have used the die. 30's fabrics are especially beautiful with this pattern :)
Kelly
enjoyed this post ..... i don't have a cutting system with dies, and have only made a twelve blade dresden table mat but i sure like the way the twenty blade plate looks. i think an odd number of blades looks unbalanced and rather odd!
This is a great post! I had never made a Dresden block before I got the GO! Cutter. On my first attempt with the pointed blades, it only took twenty blades to complete a perfect Dresden that lays flat! I had also sent blade to 10 members of my bee, and they were all able to make a flat Dresden with 20 blades. I'm pretty sure that seem allowance has a lot to do with the discrepencies. Also, maybe people aren't lining up the blades properly, that's why it doesn't lay flat. Just a thought! Ariane
I have inherited my moms Dresden quilt, plus her templates. No instructions. Thanks for all the links.
I just am making my first dresdens using the cutting tool ruler (not accuquilt.) I did not get my 20 to lie flat so I asked some others. I am using very old, used fabrics from clothing and I guess I should have been using stabilizer and that would have helped. The first two dresdens will not be flat and there is nothing that I can do about it. I am going to make the rest using the English Paper Piecing method. I feel like it's a no fail approach. I cannot add an extra in to lie flat as the colors would not work out at all.
I am going to read some of these others you pointed out but I doubt it would sway me from making them using the EPP method from here out for all dresdens.
A really interesting post! I love the look of dresden plates but don't think I've ever made one! I may have to investigate the Go! die.
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