Mini Tutorial for the Threadheads Bee.

My month is arriving for the Threadheads Bee and we’re going to be making Dresden Plate blocks.   We will be following Oh Frannson’s tutorial over at Sew, Mama, Sew.

I decided to make a mini tutorial showing a few more of the steps for those who haven’t done this before.  (This was my first time making this block and it was much easier then I thought!)  I also have a shortcut for the wedges, which I know is not technically correct but, hey, I am lazy like less work. 😉

When you get your package it will have 20 wedges already cut, the circle for the center and the 16.5″ square background piece.   You will need a scrap piece to use when making the circle center.   I found that step to be the most challenging part of making this block.   I recommend doing  a couple sample runs to get comfortable with making the circle.   That helped me a lot!

Up first is how I ‘cheated’ when doing my wedges.  I chose not to sew the ends to create the point but instead just folded the corners and pressed.   Repeat for all 20 wedges.  (click to enlarge, and try not to gasp at my nasty ironing board cover!)

Once you have all of your wedges done, go ahead and lay them out how you would like them to look.   We will be following the ‘real’ tutorial for this part by taking the 10 wedges on the right and sewing them together and then the 10 wedges on the left.

Make sure to line up the top corners, sew a 1/4″ seam, press to the left (or right) and repeat!

(click to enlarge)

After you’ve finished the two sets of 10, go ahead and line them up right sides together and sew the last two seams.  Same as before.  You will end up with something like this.

You will follow the same steps in the original tutorial for centering your plate on the background.   Press  (being careful not to stretch things) and pin really well to make sure things don’t move around.   I prefer that you just straight stitch around the perimeter and the circle.  I’m not really crazy about the zigzag/satin stitch.

If looking at the plate like a clock I pinned at 12, 3, 6 and 9 around the block and then added one in between each for a total of 8 pins around.

I then pinned around the inner circle five times.

I sewed around the outer edges with a straight stitch and pivoted at each corner (with needle always down when turning) all the way around.

(click to enlarge)

I followed Elizabeth’s tutorial the rest of the way out to make the circle.   I hope this helps some and that you enjoy making this block!  I know my little girl is so EXCITED about her ‘purple-y flower quilt’.  🙂

Thank you for helping make it for her!

Lindsey