A Quilt in a Day Project by Julie M. Watkins
StarClusterQuilts.com
Materials
- 5 Assorted fat quarters (I used Pioneer Woman fat quarters from Walmart)
- 1) 13 ½” square of background fabric
- 1) 16” square of backing fabric
- 1) 16” square piece of batting
- 2) 2 ¼” wide WOF strips for binding
Cutting Directions
- Use blade template to cut 84 blades from the 5 assorted fat quarters.
- Cut one circle from the chosen fabric to measure about ½” larger than the circle template.
- Select one fabric and cut 4) 3 ¼” squares for the corners.
NOTE: Make sure your printer is set at 100% to print the templates.
Sewing Directions
All seams are ¼” unless specified otherwise.
Dresden Plate
Use 20 blades to make a Dresden Plate for the center of the background fabric. For each blade,
- On the wide end of the blade, fold in half lengthwise with right sides together.
- Stitch across end from fold to raw edge.
- Trim corner at folded side being careful not to trim too close to the seam.
- Turn end right side out and center seam over the wrong side.
- Push point out gently.
- Press flat with a hot iron.
Sew the 20 blades together stitching long sides together from top of folded edge to narrow end. Note: make all blades the same height at folded edge and let any difference in length fall at the narrow end which forms the center.
Join the last blade to the first blade to form a circle.
Press all seams in one direction.
Center Circle
Before beginning, make a cardboard template of the Dresden Plate Center Circle.
- Baste around the fabric circle approximately ¼” from raw edge leaving the thread long at the start and at the finish.
- Place cardboard circle in center of the fabric circle on the wrong side so about ¼” of the fabric circle shows all around the edges.
- Locate the starting basting thread and ending basting thread on the right side of the fabric circle and gently draw them up to gather circle around the cardboard template.
- Press flat with a hot iron making sure the folded edges of the circle are smooth.
- Gently loosen basting of drawn up edge just enough to remove the circle template.
- Smooth edges back under to the wrong side gently drawing up the threads again as needed.
- Press circle one more time.
- Trim excess basting thread leaving just enough so the gathers don’t pull out.
Applique Dresden Plate to Background
Place Dresden Plate onto the center of the background square. Applique onto the fabric using a hand stitch or a machine stitch.
Place fabric circle wrong side down in the center of the Dresden Plate and applique in place.
Border
Using 16 blades, make four borders as follows:
- With wrong sides together, sew long edges of two blades together so that the first blade’s wide end is next to the second blade’s narrow end.
- Add another blade by placing its wide end next to the narrow end of blade two.
- Continue adding blades in this fashion until all 16 are sewn together.
- Press seams all in one direction.
- Use a cutting mat to trim each border section’s side. Make sure each section measures 3 ¼” wide by 13 ½” long after trimming.
Attaching the Borders
- Orient your appliqued piece right side up.
- Sew a border to each side of the appliqued piece.
- Sew a 3 ¼” square to each end of remaining two border pieces.
- Sew one of these border pieces to the top and one to the bottom of the applique piece matching border seams at corners with the corner square seams.
- Press border seams toward the outer edges.
Press completed top.
Finishing
- Layer top, batting, and backing.
- Quilt as desired.
- Make a binding approximately 84 inches long mitering corners. Stitch binding to the edges of the quilted table topper in the manner desired.
Article and images (C) Julie M. Watkins, 2023. All rights reserved.
No reproduction of any part of this article is allowed without express written permission.
