Not Your Grandmothers Dresden Plate Quilt!Learn How You Can Have Perfect Dresden Plate Quilts EverytimeHow many of you have been scared to attempt a Dresden Plate quilt? Or if you have tried one, did you have issues with the plate laying flat? Most of us have issues with making these Dresden Plate quilts and having them lay flat. Seems like as you stitch your seams, the plates or blades become a bit uneven and in the process you have now got a plate that will not lay flat on your foundation piece. So you tug and pull and stretch and then you finally get it stitched down on your foundation piece and now your foundation piece is puckered. GRRRR! If you like the Dresden Plates you can find wonderful Dresden Plates in antique shops and garage sales. They are usually hand stitched and the fabric is mostly the 1930's not reproduction but the real thing. My mother used to put on estate sales and collected a bunch of these blocks and since she has passed away I have inherited them. I am not sure what to do with them because I don't like the frustration of dealing with puckering blocks. So until I figure out a way to handle this, they will go in the back of the closet. But not to despair about never creating a Dresden Plate quilt. I took a class recently from Anelie Belden. She has created a method of flip and sew for creating the blades of your plates and it is so easy. Just what a beginner quilter would like. You can see my efforts here. 
See how nice and flat even my blocks are? The reason is that in Anelie's book, Thoroughly Modern Dresden, she provides templates that you can take to the copy store and ask for clear templates so you can use them over and over again. They were only a couple of dollars and you will use them forever. These templates are so easy to use and the best part, it makes for mistake free Dresden Plate Quilt blocks. She has different sizes of templates so you can make every quilt in her book. Her book, Thoroughly Modern Dresden is amazing. I bought it the first time I saw it, even before I knew I was taking a class by the author Anelie Belden. Her quilts are unbelievable. The multi colored one Anelie is holding up is the one on her book cover. Isn't it gorgeous? I took these photos when she taught the class..
Everyone was so excited to see these beautiful quilts up close. My hubby fell in love with the brown one called German Chocolate - how appropriate since he loves chocolate - as I am sure most of you do too. I mean - quilting without chocolate? I don't think so.If you would like your own copy of Anelie's book, Thoroughly Modern Dresden I have a link for you here. It will take you Amazon.com so don't be surprised. Thoroughly Modern Dresden: Quick & Easy Construction 13 Lively Quilt Projects for All Skill Levels You might also look into buying the ruler at the same time. You will not be able to create these masterpieces without it. The link is here also. This has been a great little ruler to have. I will be doing a video on it soon so keep a look out. fast2cut Dresden Plate Template: Quickly Make Dresden Plates from 6 3/4" to 22 1/4" As always, good luck and happy quilting. Eileen |
