Originally Posted by amandasgramma
Ok mrsbonnie....here goes:
lay your pieces out like you want -- but without the center piece (the circle). Sew two of the "blades" together, then two more and two more -- and keep sewing till you have them in a circle. Now lay it down on a backing piece (yours has a blue background) Sew those pieces to the background around the outer edges (with the 1/4" tucked under). Now sew the center circle on. You can hand stitch all those pieces on and hide the stitches or do like they did. Finally, sew the backing to another backing (maybe with batting - up to you) with the RIGHT sides together -- be sure to leave a 4" or so opening on one side). Flip the right sides out, close the opening. Now...what I'd do is sew with the machine or by hand an "echo" stitch around the Dresden plate -- so you're sewing all the layers together.....basically, quilting it. Hope this helps!!!!
This is JUST ABOUT what I would do. Only after sewing the blades together, I would do a straight stitch around the opening, a little less than a 1/4" away, to keep it from stretching. Then stitch the backing on right sides together, clip the curved edges and turn right sides out. Press well. The applique the circle on with a satin stitch like they show, and you won't have any opening to hand stitch closed.