Thursday, January 25, 2024

Dresden Stars, the Circles

The table runner for my friend has been pieced and we took it to be quilted at Calico Point. They said it would be approximately 6 weeks before it was quilted. I wanted to get it into their quilting line-up as fast as possible because this is supposed to be a birthday gift in April. Sorry, I neglected to take a picture, you'll see the complete finish after it's quilted and the binding has been added. Nathalie was very pleased with it.

Since the table runner is out of the way, I returned my attention to the Dresden Stars. Technically the pattern name is Dresden Star but I call it stars since there is more than one star in the quilt.

In my last post about Dresden Stars, I had started appliqueing the plates to the background fabric using a brown variegated thread. I'm using the same thread to applique the circles.

I've mentioned before that the fabrics for this quilt are from a kit I purchased many years ago, probably at least 17 years? The pattern is copyrighted 2006. Civil War fabrics don't really appeal to me anymore but the kit is here so I'm making this quilt.

I grimaced when I pulled the brown for the circles, more brown! I dug in my box of civil war fabrics I have on hand and found a large piece of fabric that was gifted to me when Deanna moved. I thought this was much more prettier.

I prepped two circles then sent a picture to Kathi and asked her which one she thought looked the best. We both agreed on the brown. I really like that blue/gray flowered fabric but that is what I saw when I looked at the block, not the Dresdens.


But now I look at the picture and think that fabric doesn't overpower after all. Oh well, it's too late, the brown has been appliqued


I made a change to the pattern and trimmed these blocks to 12.5" which is larger than Edyta specified but I want my quilt larger.

Kathi asked me how I'm making the circles so perfect. I'm using this product. I've used it before but I don't remember which quilt. 

Edyta has a paper template included with the pattern. I checked and the circle is the same size as the largest circle in Karen Buckley's large size perfect circles. 

I traced the circles onto the sheets then cut them out. When I ironed them onto the back of the brown fabric, I made sure I left a good edge of fabric. Then I took a needle and thread and basted the edge of the fabric, pulled it tight and knotted it. When I pressed the top of the circles, I had perfect circles! 

The left circle is the gathered edge of the circle. The center circle is a gathered circle before pressing. The right circle is after pressing.

Edyta had said to use freezer paper but this worked much better and it doesn't need to be removed. It's supposed to wash out but I didn't try a sample. My friend Lynn uses this product all the time with her applique.

Finally, here is a picture of a finished block. All 18 of the blocks are finished but I only took a picture of this one. And yes, the variegated thread does show some but I didn't have the stress of dealing with invisible thread!

And the backside because someone always wants to see how it looks.


I used a zigzag stitch to applique the center and the dresden plate. I finger pressed the background fabric to make the diagonal lines. Finger pressing irons out easily. I left long threads when I started and stopped, then pulled them to the back side and knotted them several times.

The next step is the sashing and the setting triangles.

Linking to Midweek MakersWednesday Wait LossNeedle & Thread Thursday, Put Your Foot Down, TGIFF!, Whoop Whoop Party, Finished or Not  Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Beauty Pageant, Patchwork & Quilts

16 comments:

  1. We have to make a Dresden Quilt later this year as a part of our IB projects. I am going to revisit your blog for inspiration. The front is lovely and the back is neat too. Your home ec teacher would have been very proud :-)

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  2. Dear Gretchen,

    It looks great and the Dresden blocks are all done. Love the colours! Looking forward to seeing the whole top. Blogger seems to be fixed, I had the same issues with comments on blogs and can now comment without having any problem.

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  3. Your circles are so nice and crisp. I am unfamiliar with the wash away appliqué sheets. Sounds like a good idea. I'm very curious about the freezer paper washing away. I sort of want to make a small thing with it in there just to see what it does.

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  4. Awesome Dresden Stars. The brown makes the other colors stand out well. You are making such progress. I really liked that pattern, but don't know where I put the templates. I do have another mini dresden template. Anyway, I can't wait to see that blue and yellow table runner. The colors are so pretty and perfect for April!

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  5. Your finished start does look lovely. xx

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  6. I can't wait to see the table runner in those pretty blues and yellows. Those perfect circles look amazing. Although that blue is pretty, I love the brown.

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  7. Wow, these Dresdens and your circles are so perfect. I think your fabrics are working beautifully together too. I've read about this material and am tempted to try it. Happy Stitching, Gretchen!

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  8. Very nice. :) Thanks for sharing in the TGIFF party.

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  9. You know, I don't think the "civil war reproduction" fabrics from the 1990s and 2000s were 100% accurate reproductions. I think the colors were tweaked a little to the current tastes at that time, a little more mauve and Laura Ashley-ish than what you see in a true 19th century quilt, just like the Laundry Basket fabrics today are inspired by antique fabric prints but with just a little more coral and aqua to suit today's quilters. In any case, your Dresden star(s) are fabulous and I'm interested to see you using that applique product because I just found some in my own studio as I'm dismantling everything and packing up to move. Curious -- why do you think the pattern has you waiting to applique the center circles until after the rest of the plate has already been appliqued to the block background? I would have thought to applique the center circle in place off the block and then attach the whole thing to the background, easier to trim away the background fabric behind the plate and reduce bulk for quilting. Oh, and I think it's fine to have visible thread when your machine applique stitches are as neat and pretty as yours are!

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  10. I was lucky enough to win a raffle quilt at a local quilt show several years ago. It has a lot of brown in it, and this is a colour that I don’t normally use. However, it is amazing how it fits well into any room I put it in. Maybe because it’s kind of neutral? I like your blocks.

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  11. How lovely. I'm not a big brown fan either. However, because the print is smaller than the blue fabric, it odes let the Dresden Star be the focus.

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  12. Those are really cool blocks - they look so very time consuming!

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  13. Wow, the finish is gorgeous! Your Dresden look wonderful, neat, and sharp.
    I like the brown center ;)
    Thank you for sharing!

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  14. They are so lovely and you did a great job with the applique, so neat. Thank you for linking up to Put your foot down!

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  15. Such perfect blocks. Thanks for sharing your circle method. Beautiful and inspiring.

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