Dresden Plate Assembly part 5

Once the circle is pinned in place you need an all-purpose thread the color of the circle, an applique needle and a thimble. Thread the needle.

Remember that thread has a direction...the end you cut near the spool is the end you tie the knot in.

Use single thickness of thread, bring the needle up from the back of the circle, just catching the edge of the circle fabric. The knot will be under the circle...tuck the thread under the circle that is left from the knot end.

Place your plate on a flat surface. Remove the pin directly under where you will be stitching to get rid of the bump the pin causes. Be careful not to move the circle out of place.

Using the back whipstitch to sew the circle on. I demonstrated the stitch in class.

From where you came up the first time take your needle down through the plate fabric just outside the circle, almost under the circle so the thread won't show.

Carry the needle about 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch under the plate fabric and bring the needle back up through the plate fabric and the edge of the circle fabric into your view again from the top. Remember to just catch the edge of the circle so there is not much thread showing and so the freezer paper will come out easier.

Go back down through the plate fabric just outside the circle where you just came up again ... continue all the way around the circle.

The last stitch ends on the back side of the plate fabric and is knotted there.

Now clip, pin and press the outside rounded edges of your plate. Use the same method you did for the center circle. I find it easier to do about half the plate at a time.

After this is pressed flat then you need to baste these edges in place. Use a thread that will be easily seen when it's time to take out the basting thread.

Find the center of the 13 inch square background piece by folding the square in half and pressing a small crease in the center with your iron. Unfold, and fold the square in half the other direction, press again. Only press the center...about 1 inch long. Now you should have a + pressed in the center of the 13 inch square.

Find the center of the plate by folding it in half and finger pressing the freezer paper in the center of the circle, unfold, fold in half the other direction, finger press the center line, and you will end up with another + mark.

Now match up the + marks in the background fabric and the plate. You can put a pin through the + on both fabrics and line it up that way if you wish, pinning it down to the ironing board cover. This way you could spin the plate fabric to make sure you are happy with wear the seams on the plate fabric are in relation to the background fabric.

With the plate on top of the background fabric look at it visually. You should have even amounts of background fabric outside the plate on all four sides. Once you are happy things are lined up then pin in place using applique pins. You don't want to pin or sew this on the padded surface of the ironing board cover, use a hard flat surface.

ALWAYS WORK ON A FLAT SURFACE PINNING AND APPLIQUEING!!!!!!!!!

Now you are ready to back whipstitch the plate to the background fabric. Use the same method I wrote for the circle. When you get to the point where the seams are, make sure both plate pieces end at the same point...if they don't it's easy to tuck one side under a little now. Give about 3 or 4 stitches where the seams meet for extra hold there. When you get all the way around the plate then carry the last stitch to the backside of the background fabric and knot there.