Hi everyone! I was reading up the other day about a technique called "selective cutting" for dresden plates in which you pick a specific repeating pattern in a piece of fabric and then cut out each blade identically so you can get some cool effects in the final Dresden. I decided to try out the process on an old piece of upholstery fabric I had in my stash that had a pretty floral pattern with some features I thought might look nice as a repeat. In order to capture the best pattern I used the full 8 inch length of the EZ Dresden tool. This made a Dresden just over 20 inches in diameter! The pattern actually looks pretty cool but I got the idea to stagger my blade edges between pointed and rounded for a little more interest....and now I think I have created a problem I'm not sure how to fix.
I had 20 blades laid out on the table after making points on half and cutting round tops on the other half. I overlapped them by about 1/4 inch to get an idea of the final appearance and it looks to me like 20 blades is not quite enough to make the full circle. Problem now is I think 22 blades will be too many, and if I use 21 blades that will mess up my staggering pattern of edges! I suppose I could try to stitch the 20 blades together using a 1/8 inch seam and see if that gives me enough extra to make them fit without having to try to fit in an extra blade. I also don't want to mess up my repeating pattern in the fabric either if I can help it.
Any suggestions on the best approach? This is really just a test project, the upholstery fabric is pretty but I doubt it is 100% cotton. It has sort of a velvety texture similar to moleskin on the right side and I am not planning on laundering it before or after since I'm not sure it will hold up to that.
I'm also not sure on the best way to finish off the blades with the rounded tops. Do I just turn them under and press and hope I get a smooth rounded edge or is it best to trim the tops so the corners will meet with the pointed blades properly and then just plan on satin stitching the rounded ones?
SELECTIVE CUT DRESDEN PROJECT CLOSEUP_0007.jpgSELECTIVE CUT DRESDEN PROJECT QUESTION_0006.jpg
I had 20 blades laid out on the table after making points on half and cutting round tops on the other half. I overlapped them by about 1/4 inch to get an idea of the final appearance and it looks to me like 20 blades is not quite enough to make the full circle. Problem now is I think 22 blades will be too many, and if I use 21 blades that will mess up my staggering pattern of edges! I suppose I could try to stitch the 20 blades together using a 1/8 inch seam and see if that gives me enough extra to make them fit without having to try to fit in an extra blade. I also don't want to mess up my repeating pattern in the fabric either if I can help it.
Any suggestions on the best approach? This is really just a test project, the upholstery fabric is pretty but I doubt it is 100% cotton. It has sort of a velvety texture similar to moleskin on the right side and I am not planning on laundering it before or after since I'm not sure it will hold up to that.
I'm also not sure on the best way to finish off the blades with the rounded tops. Do I just turn them under and press and hope I get a smooth rounded edge or is it best to trim the tops so the corners will meet with the pointed blades properly and then just plan on satin stitching the rounded ones?
SELECTIVE CUT DRESDEN PROJECT CLOSEUP_0007.jpgSELECTIVE CUT DRESDEN PROJECT QUESTION_0006.jpg
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