Hey everyone, as you know I recently had the opportunity to attend a fun blogging convention, SNAP! I was able to meet so many amazing vendors. I was contacted by Sewing with Nancy and asked to participate in a sewing challenge: Sewing with Nancy Dimensional Dresden Template.
I hate to admit that I didn’t even know what a Dresden Plate was. I looked it up online and found lots of different varieties.
When my package arrived I read through the pattern book and saw there are many different ways to use this template, which is great. You can make a bunch of different styles, curved, pointed, scalloped and more. I like to see the pattern and put my own twist on it – be creative and see where it takes you.
Since I am known for my aprons, I chose to make one for this project. I found this darling fabric from Moda Fabric: Corner of 5th and Fun. I used a charm pack and bought a few half yard cuts.
First, I want to say that making a Dresdren piece is so much easier than I thought it would be. The pattern book is easy to read and my favorite part – at the back of the book they give you the finished sizes.
Here is how I made my Dresden Plate for the apron bib.
WHAT YOU NEED:
Enough Fabric for finished piece – I used Moda United Fabric Corner of 5th & Fun
Coordinating Thread
Sewing Machine
Scissors
Rotary Cutter and Mat
Sewing Needle for hand work
To begin:
Gather supplies and determine how big you want your final piece to be. If you have limited space measure carefully. There are 19 different sizes you can create. I chose the 1 1/2” size which finishes at 4 1/8”.
Stack several layers of fabric together (yay! for cutting multiple pieces) and lay the template on top. Cut using your rotary cutter, my favorite is the Olfa Cutter.
You’ll end up with a bunch of cute little pieces like this. You need 12 pieces to make one Dresden Plate.
Next fold the pieces in half (right sides together) and sew. I like to chain stitch, which just means to continuously feed them through the machine without lifting the foot each time. You end up with a bunch of template pieces all sewn together. You will have to cut them apart. Then clip the corners so we can fold them.
This is probably the trickiest part, but it’s not that hard. Once you have clipped the corner you want to flip the piece so the right side is out. It will make a point at the top that you want to iron.
After you turn the pieces they will look like this. Now for the fun part…figure out how you want them arranged. I love moving pieces around to see what I looks best, then it’s time to sew.
Make sure to iron them once you are done – the seams lay nicer and you will be happier with the finished product.
Making the circle for the center is a lot easier than I thought it would be. You can use any method that you choose here’s what I did. Cut a circle out of cardboard, trace onto fabric. I liked using these Eraseable gel ink pens, which I got from Nancy’s Notions, of course.
Do a running stitch around the edges
Insert the cardboard piece and pull thread to tighten. Iron edges down over the cardboard.
Remove the card board pattern piece and iron again.
Next, you can apply the circle to the dresden plate. You can either appliqué it on by hand or sew with your machine. I chose to sew with the machine.
You are finished. Good news you can attach these to anything. I machine sewed it to my apron bib and I am thinking about adding it to bags. My daughter wants to make a hot pad to match the apron.
And because I wanted to see what it looked like with a darker petal on another apron bib, I quickly did one more.
This was a really fun project. I already know what else I want to make with this template. Yes, I did get the pattern book and template provided by Nancy’s Notions, you can get your copy of the book and template here, but the opinions are solely my own.
Happy Sewing Friends!
Love,
SookEe Designs
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