Hi there! I'm so excited about this week's block. I love me a good Dresden plate and Melanie has put together a beautiful one complete with hand stitching. We hope you enjoy this week's instructions. Here's Melanie with her tutorial!

XOXO Bari

P.S. Here are some of the fabrics used in the Quiltalong.  Each of the photos are clickable to purchase.

Hello, hello.

I'm hoping with the last pattern you enjoyed your leisurely stitching.  This week we are going to really WORK it!  We've got seven dresden plates to make, people.  Let's get started!

If you are behind or just brand new and need to catch up, here's the page that holds all the patterns released so far.

Dresden plates are kinda my thing.  I've made them many, many times.  You'll find three pages worth of Dresden plates on my blog here.  So yeah, I'm pretty in love with them.

I'm hoping you'll fall in love with them too.  They look ridiculously entricate, but are in fact simple to make, just verrrrrrrry time consuming.  Give them a look though, and I think you will find that they are SO worth it.

In an effort to make my quilt have more of a bohemian quality to it, I'm once again adding some unconventional items to my quilt, this time more embroidery and a little crochet.

Please don't think you have to do the same.  I'll be showing you the simplest and quickest way to make a Dresden plate if you so prefer to use that method and you are welcome to use that method for all the Dresden's.  Also, if you've got your own ideas for making this pattern your own, go for it!  I can't wait to see what you do.

Let's talk about fabrics

I've used quite a bit of fabrics in my Dresdens, so I'm going to focus here what I used for my background.

For my background, I'm using (click the shops to be taken directly to the fabric):

• Magnolia Study in Fresh - Fat Quarter Shop, Hawthorne Threads
• Corsage Charm in Pink - Hawthorne Threads, Fat Quarter Shop
• Bee and Bits in Cream 
• Miss Thread in Cream 

I've chosen again to use low volumes mixed with the Magnolia Study fabric (pale aqua fabric).  This way my Dresden plates can catch the eye more easily.  Also, because I'm kinda obsessed with low volume fabrics.....

 

You can download your PDF pattern here.

A few things about the download:  I don't mention (eek!) that the background pieces are cut from background fabric mentioned in the original introduction PDF. If you purchased fabric specifically for this quilt based on the yardage I gave you in the beginning, you might want to think about that and use the fabric you set aside for your background.  If you are winging it, wing on!

Here's the Dresden plates we are working on this round highlighted for you to see exactly where they go in your quilt.

A Little More for Beginners

If you need a little bit more help than the PDF offers, please enjoy this video.  Please note that the video is very long.  It does not cover how to piece the background.  This is our 9th pattern for this quilt along and since the background pieces was straight lines and fairly simple I figured you had that kinda thing down.  The PDF pattern details how to piece the background pretty clearly.  If you need help, just ask.  I'm here for you!

The video does detail the quickest method for cutting Dresden blades, so be sure to watch!  One tiny snafoo.... When I'm teaching how to cut the blades, I'm teaching the smallest Dresden on Section 2, I go into detail that you cut your strip 2.5" wide.  Please note that this is accurate for Section 2, but for Section 1, your strip will need to be cut at 3.5".  My apologies for the oversight!

Tips for this week's pattern:

• In this post, I've detailed more about the crochet part of my Dresden's, just in case you are interested in doing the same.
• Unless you are going with scrappy Dresden plates, I find it easier to make one plate at a time.  You are cutting a total of 85 blades and some of the Dresden plates hold different numbers of blades.
• Be patient with this pattern.  It's very big and time consuming.  Break your steps or Dresden plates up into manageable bouts of time so that you don't become stressed or feel like you have to finish all at once.
• For more ideas on adding your centers, have a look at the Boho inspiration board.
• In Pattern 2: we detailed how to add interfacing and fusible adhesive to your applique pieces if you need a refresher.
• In Pattern 8: we detailed how to machine stitch the edges of your applique.

Bari J. Fabric is available at these fine stores! 

Don't forget to share on IG using the #barijquiltalong tag and please tag @BariJ and @southerncharmquilts. 

We love to see what you are working on.

Good luck!!

Melanie