Dresden Plate Petal and Circle Sizes

[Barbara B.]

This has been discussed in two other places. To keep it from getting lost, here is the place to discuss the Dresden Plate block--that appears in Months 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9.

Irene did not provide a template for the Dresden plate Petals and Circle, most likely because she said to use Paperpieces.com papers. It is the 1” 12 Petal Chrysanthemum. The Quilt Show shop has a package for sale which also includes the large Diamonds for appliquéing the Outer Borders—PLEASE NOTE: if you piece the Diamond Borders instead of appliqué you will not need the Diamond papers.

If you want to draw the Dresden Plate yourself, here are the measurements, NO seam allowance. I strongly recommend you draw a 3.75” circle to create the 12 petals and 1 circle. The points of the petals go at the North, South, East, and West axis in Irene's pattern.

Segment them as close to exactly the same size as you can, 12 petals around:

Dresden petal: 1” long sides, 1/4” at the narrow center end, two diagonal lines are close to 5/8” each. Height from tip to bottom is 1.25”.
Center Circle: 1.25” across

You can always choose to put something different in the center of the pieced block— I did Double Hearts in 4 of the 6 pieced blocks in my sample quilt made last Summer.

See photos in the Month 3 Blog:

[URL="https://bbquiltmaker.blogspot.com/2022/02/gpdu-month-3-applique-vase-and-pieced.html"]https://bbquiltmaker.blogspot.com/20...nd-pieced.html[/URL]

[Helen W.]

AmyE, Another way of making the templates would be to enlarge the print out page 7 of the block. When I printed it out my
squares on the block were 2.5 inches. If you cut that center Dresden out with a little extra space around it, then enlarge
to 160% on your printer you get a 4 inch square which is the finished size needed. Cut out the blades on the the lines
and make cardboard of plastic templates. Just another work around.I tried it and it worked fine. HelenW

Click on photo to see entire photo.

[AmyE]

Thanks Helen! I might try that. I also like the idea of just doing something else with that square. I'll figure something out and post pictures!

[lholzhu]

So I made a template based on Barbara’s measurements which I believe are the finished size of the pedals. Here is my template. 1/4” bottom line, 5/8” on each side of the center line. Add 1/4” for seams. I folded the fabric and sewed across the top and then opened and pressed the tip. Adding another pedal and seam with pressing seam open.

[Naomi L.]

Disappointed Dresden Plate pattern piece not included. (Maybe Irene could update pattern, as for the leaves on month 2 vine?) Not so easy for those of us not in USA to send for papers - postage cost and time delay - so just about to get down to some mathematical drawing!

[Barbara B.]

Printing page 7 of the pattern at 160% gives a 4" Dresden Plate block with a 1.25" center circle. The petals and the circle are the correct size.

We are working to provide this as a PDF update.

[Naomi L.]

Many thanks for the pattern Barbara.

[Suzanne C.]

Why o why don't I read instructions? I'm such a visual person. I was cursing this dresden but I did finish it. All 2 1/2". Yup right off the print out sheet. Believe it or not. Now I will print it out at 160%. This next one should be a piece of cake lol

[Helen W.]

[QUOTE=Meegwat;n892272]Why o why don't I read instructions? I'm such a visual person. I was cursing this dresden but I did finish it. All 2 1/2". Yup right off the print out sheet. Believe it or not. Now I will print it out at 160%. This next one should be a piece of cake lol[/QUOTE]

Suzanne C. I would not waste them. I bet you could use them for flowers in some the applique vase blocks. If you already stitched them down to the background, I would rip them off and recycle them. HelenW

[Peg]

One attempt at using the tiny blade templates sent me looking for a "better mouse trap"! I figured out how to make mine using the freezer paper piecing technique. Thanks to comments about enlarging block illustration to 160% and trick of sewing across the top of the blade and I was off. I tried to take a photo showing my steps and I've written as concise a description as possible for you - this assumes you know the basics of paper piecing. Note- I didn't want to tear off paper as blades are so small so used freezer paper. I also reduced my stitch length on my Janome to 1.6 - tiny for tiny pieces. I was able to get all 6 done in under 4 hours :))) I actually made 7 as first one was trial with lots of errors. Here goes....

[FONT=Calibri][COLOR=#000000]Freezer Paper Pieced Dresden- Prep- Print or draw the full-sized dresden on the dull side of freezer paper, cut out along the outer lines of the points only, then cut in half with 6 blades on each side. Pre-fold along the lines. Lines will be thick so be as precise as possible.[/COLOR][/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri][COLOR=#000000]1) cut out 72 fabric blades using several freezer paper templates – (a trapezoid 2” high, top 1”, bottom 1/5”) -I cut 4 at a time [/COLOR][/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri][COLOR=#000000]2) reduce stitch length to a tiny 1.6. Fold the blade RST and sew across the wide end (chain stitch in batches of 10-12). Carefully trim the corner at the folded end to reduce bulk [/COLOR][/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri][COLOR=#000000]3) turn inside out, center the seam and press (Sue Cleveland Prairie Point tool very helpful) [/COLOR][/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri][COLOR=#000000]4) arrange 12 blades as desired in 2 sets of six- remember you will be sewing in reverse order[/COLOR][/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri][COLOR=#000000]5) sew using paper piecing method (freezer or sewing through paper), lining the point and top edges of each new blade up to the previous blade. Press over and check that each new blade point lines up with the template. Adjust seam as needed before continuing- you may need to take a bigger seam towards the bottom to keep blades aligned- the bottom of each blade is small- this is where you need to check after each blade. With scissors trim seams to 1/8”[/COLOR][/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri][COLOR=#000000]6) Sew two sets of 6 together, then remove paper and press.[/COLOR][/FONT]

[Peg]

see rewrite of directions below without all the embedded commands- sorry!!! tried to copy and paste from a word document. Doesn't work!!

[Helen W.]

Peg, I like your Better Mouse Trap. I already have mine in the process or I would have tried your method. The tiny Dresdens sure are cute. HelenW

[Bonita B.]

Peg, Thank you SO much for the better mouse trap. I much prefer paper piecing method over hand stitching and fumbling with it. Following your lead on this and I now have 6 cute little Dresden plates all completed. Just need to figure out what to use for the center. The first 2 plates were more than abit challenging but the following 4 went along rather nicely after sleeping on it. Again thank you for your added directions which were also helpful! Bonnie B.

[Peg]

click on my photos and they turn the right way!! easier to see my steps

[Barbara B.]

[QUOTE=MSHendel;n892301]click on my photos and they turn the right way!! easier to see my steps [/QUOTE]

Peg, looks like that worked great for you—good job! Bet you are glad they are done.

[Judith A.]

I ordered mine from paperpieces.com, as the TQS shop is out of them. Paperpieces.com shipped them same day I ordered them. Per tracking info, it will take 4-5 business days to deliver them. That will be quick enough for me. They are shipped from Paducah. I had a little trouble finding them on the paperpieces.com website. They are not listed under "dresden." To help anyone else who wants to order them, the quickest way I I found them was to google 1" 12 petal chrysanthemum." That takes you right to them on the website.

[Barbara B.]

[QUOTE=JudithA;n892307]I ordered mine from paperpieces.com, as the TQS shop is out of them. Paperpieces.com shipped them same day I ordered them. Per tracking info, it will take 4-5 business days to deliver them. That will be quick enough for me. They are shipped from Paducah. I had a little trouble finding them on the paperpieces.com website. They are not listed under "dresden." To help anyone else who wants to order them, the quickest way I I found them was to google 1" 12 petal chrysanthemum." That takes you right to them on the website. [/QUOTE]

The exact order number is shown on the last page of the Introduction/Fabric Kit in the 2022 BOM pages. The list of Irene's recommended supplies lists both the 1" 12 petal Chrysanthemum and the 3" Diamonds.

PLEASE NOTE: if you are going to machine piece the Diamond border you will not need the Diamond paper shapes. Irene hand appliqued them to a long border, using the paper shapes. I machine pieced them and will provide detailed information on that process in Month 10 when the borders begin.

[Peg]

PAPER PIECED DRESDENS......YIKES!! I don't know what happened to my entry on paper piecing- I tried to copy and paste and think embedded commands took over. Here it is again, typed in Forum:
click on photo to see picture of various steps for freezer paper piecing of dresden-

Print or draw full-sized Dresden on dull side of freezer paper, cut out along lines of the points then cut in half w 6 blades on each side. Pre-fold along the lines- be precise.
1) cut out 72 fabric blades using a template 2" high, top 1" and bottom 1.5"- I used freezer paper and cut 4 at a time
2) reduce st length to a tiny 1.6 (on Janome) Fold blade RST lengthwise and sew across the wide end (chain piece in batches). Carefully trim corner at folded end to reduce bulk
3) turn inside out, center seam and press (Sue Cleveland's Prairie Point tool very helpful)- you now have finished points!
4) arrange 12 blades as desired in 2 sets of six-keep in order!
5) sew together using paper piecing method (I prefer freezer paper- no tearing off, esp on small blades). Place blade #1 on PP paper lining up the point and top edge.
Line point and top edges of each new blade up to the previous blade. Press over and check that points line up with template. Adjust seam as needed before continuing- you may need to take a bigger seam at the bottom to keep blades aligned with template. Trim seam to 1/8"
6) Sew two sets of 6 together, then remove paper. Press well

[Petalleach]

Brilliant, thanks fo much for sharing......I'm off to give it a go!!!

[Judith A.]

[QUOTE=Barbara Black;n892308]

The exact order number is shown on the last page of the Introduction/Fabric Kit in the 2022 BOM pages. The list of Irene's recommended supplies lists both the 1" 12 petal Chrysanthemum and the 3" Diamonds.

PLEASE NOTE: if you are going to machine piece the Diamond border you will not need the Diamond paper shapes. Irene hand appliqued them to a long border, using the paper shapes. I machine pieced them and will provide detailed information on that process in Month 10 when the borders begin.[/QUOTE]

I read and reread the Introduction/Fabric Kit documents when they first posted, but I did not remember that the exact order number was listed at the end of the last page. I am a 75-year-old lady whose memory is not as good as it used to be. That's the way it is - I can't help it. It is embarrassing.

[Barbara B.]

[QUOTE=JudithA;n892325]

I read and reread the Introduction/Fabric Kit documents when they first posted, but I did not remember that the exact order number was listed at the end of the last page. I am a 75-year-old lady whose memory is not as good as it used to be. That's the way it is - I can't help it. It is embarrassing. [/QUOTE]

Don’t be embarrassed, that memory thing happens to all of us. Glad I know where to look sometimes.