SUMMER SPIN

Pepper a clean white quilt with bursts of brilliant pattern, in a contemporary and dynamic Dresden Plate design

Piece bursts of brilliant pattern, in a dynamic Dresden Plate design

YOU WILL NEED

■ Twelve (12) print fabrics: one (1) fat quarter each

■ Background fabric: 2¾yds

■ Backing fabric: 4yds

■ Batting: 70in square

■ Binding fabric: ½yd

■ Thin card: 3¼in square

■ Twenty-blade Dresden, Small Circle and Large Circle templates: one (1) copy each

FINISHED SIZE

■ 60in square

NOTES

■ Seam allowances are ¼in throughout, unless otherwise noted.

■ Press seams to one side, unless otherwise instructed.

■ RST = right sides together.

■ Templates include seam allowances.

■ For templates, see p89.

■ Fabrics provided by Cotton+Steel (cottonandsteel.com)

FABRICS USED

Print fabrics are from the Welsummer collection by Kim Kight for Cotton+Steel.

CUTTING OUT

1

From the background fabric cut:

■ Thirty six (36) 10½in squares.

■ Six (6) pieces using the Large Circle template.

2

From each print fabric cut:

■ Ten (10) blades using the Twenty-blade Dresden template.

3

From the binding fabric cut:

■ Seven (7) 2½in x WOF strips.

PIECING THE QUILT TOP

4

Place two coordinating Dresden blades RST and sew together down one side, starting ¼in from the top. Continue adding blades until all ten pieces from the same print are joined to form a semi circle.

5

Repeat step 4 for the remaining prints, to make twelve Dresden semi circles.

MAKE PLAYFUL PRINTS THE MAIN EVENT BY USING A CRISP, SOLID WHITE BACKGROUND

6

Arrange the semi circles in pairs, sewing together to form a full circle. Press. Make a total of six circles.

7

Glue the Small Circle template to a piece of thin card and cut out. With a background fabric circle right side down, centre your Small Circle template on top (Fig A). Press the edges of the fabric over the template. Remove the template and press again (Fig B). Repeat for the remaining background circles.

8

Position the circles in the centre of each Dresden circle, covering the gap in the middle. Pin and stitch around the circle to secure in place.

9

Press under ¼in around the outer edges of each Dresden circle (Fig C).

10

Sew four of the 10½in squares of background fabric as you would a four-patch block. Position one Dresden circle in the centre, using the seams of the four-patch to centre the circle. Pin in place and topstitch around the outer edge of the circle in a subtle coloured thread. Repeat with all six Dresden circles.

11

Arrange your blocks and six remaining background squares, referring to the Layout Diagram for placement. Sew the plain squares together in pairs. Join the background pairs and blocks in three columns, then join the columns to complete the quilt top.

QUILTING AND FINISHING

12

Cut the backing fabric in half across the width. Remove the selvedges and sew the two pieces together using a ½in seam. Press the seam open.

13

Press the quilt top and backing well. Make a quilt sandwich by placing the backing fabric right side down, the batting on top, then place the quilt top centrally and right side up. Baste the layers together using your preferred method.

14

Quilt as desired. Lou hand quilted around the Dresdens. Trim the excess batting and backing and square up the quilt. 15

Sew the binding strips together end-to-end using diagonal seams. Press the seams open. Fold in half lengthways, wrong sides together, and press.

16

Sew the binding to the right side of the quilt, creating a mitre at each corner. Fold the binding over to the back of the quilt and neatly hand stitch in place to finish.