Make Time Sew-Along: Week 4 Dresden Fan
Welcome to week 4 of the Make Time Sew-Along. This week we are looking at the Sunrise block which is made from a large Dresden Fan.
This Dresden Fan design is based on a 18° Dresden Plate. This means that there are 20 blades per whole plate, or 10 per ‘Sunrise’. This design features shorter blades with a larger centre semi-circle to really evoke the feeling of a sun popping up over the horizon.
Dresden Fan Top Tips
There are a lot of detailed instructions and illustrations that come with the Make Time quilt bundle and there are even more that can be found in the demo video (see below), but here are my top tips:
- Treat fabrics with starch, best press or similar before cutting out
- Transfer templates to cardstock to make them more durable
- Ensure you are working with an accurate 1/4″ seam allowance (check out this YouTube video if you need a hand with this)
- Sew the points on individual blades starting at the ‘open’ edge, rather than the ‘folded’ edge (helps with accuracy)
- Trim the seam allowance at the blade points before turning through
- Finger press to find the centre line of the blade, or use a pressing template, to help ensure accurate and even points on blades
- Join blades together starting at the outer edges. Don’t worry if the inner edges don’t match 100%, they will be covered by the inner semi-circle
- Sew blades in two sets of 5 and check they are ‘square’ before joining together to make a fan/semi-circle
- Use a hera marker to mark up the background fabric to help with positioning the blades correctly
- Baste fan and inner semi-circle to background fabric at outer edges of block before starting to applique
- Applique by hand for a ‘softer’ look or machine applique for a quicker method
Make Time Quilt Pattern Bundle
The Make Time quilt is a collaboration from four British designers that really focuses on making time to do the things that make you happy. There are blocks themed around spending time in nature, pursuing creative hobbies, spending time with friends and family and taking time for a little self-care.
To accompany the project there are a whole host of blog posts and tutorials that will help you in the making of this great quilt.
Click below to buy a copy of the Make Time quilt pattern bundle
18° Dresden Plate & Dresden Fan Templates
If you love this version of a Dresden Plate and Dresden Fan with a large centre, then have a look at my set of Dresden Plate Templates.
This set of templates includes 4 different sizes of blades and templates for the large inner sections. In total you can make 12 different block configurations.
The pdf includes illustrated instructions PLUS
- Blade cutting templates
- Fussing cutting templates
- Blade pressing templates
- Inner 1/4 circle, semi circle and full circles in four sizes
- Circle cutting and pressing templates
Dresden Plate and Fan (18 degree) : Patchwork Templates
£5.00This pattern includes instructions and templates for making an 18° Dresden Plate with a large centre. The templates can also be used to make a Dresden Fan in a Semi-Circle or Quarter Circle layout.
There are templates in four different sizes. They can be used to make all three layout styles and can create a variety of block sizes. See listing image for sizes.
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