Monday, 11 March 2013

fun with tumblers




The past week I've been playing a little bit with the 4" tumbler die (657616). This die is great for using with charm packs, you can cut a single tumbler out of each charm square with just a little bit of waste. It's also one of the cheaper dies that you can get, priced at less than £15.

I do think it's one of those shapes that you might overlook, because unlike a half square triangle or a square you can't use it with other dies to make fancy shapes. But it's actually a die that you're likely to pull out again and again.

I pieced these tumblers together in their expected setting for a fast cushion cover (which isn't quite finished...bear with me, I've had a busy week!)


tumblers



And then these tumblers I put together in a slightly different way and ended up with a dresden plate (again, not quite finished!).


Dresden plate from a tumbler

Want to know how?

Here you go!


For a full circle you need to cut 14 tumblers. I also cut a further 7 tumblers to make additional 'petals' for an extra layer.

Dresden plate from a tumbler

fold each tumbler right sides together and sew a 1/4" seam along the top edge

Dresden plate from a tumbler

chain piece this step to speed things up

Dresden plate from a tumbler




Dresden plate from a tumbler

Turn out the right way and poke the point with a stiletto or knitting needle/chop stick to make it pointy


Dresden plate from a tumbler

press flat...

Dresden plate from a tumbler

Sew 14 of your 'petals' into a circle. Press the seams so they all go in the same direction, and carefully pin in the centre of a background square (I cut a 20" background square from white fabric, and folded it into quarters so I could centre the block easily). I also added additional petals around the circle, just popping them under the circle and pinning into place.


Dresden plate from a tumbler

Using a large dinner plate as a template cut a circle from cardboard (my circle is 11.5" in diameter). Then cut a circle from fabric 1/2" larger than the template (all the way round). Press the fabric all the way around the template. Spray starch is useful here, it will give you a nice crisp edge.

Dresden plate from a tumbler


Make sure it's even all the way round

Dresden plate from a tumbler

Remove the template carefully and pin to the centre of your dresden plate circle.

Dresden plate from a tumbler

Applique all the way around the dresden plate - making sure all the petals (including the additional second layer ones) are stitched down, and all the way around the centre circle too. I hand stitched mine, but you could use the sewing machine for speed.

And there you have it! A completely different look from the same tumbler die!

9 comments:

  1. Dresden petals- great idea for the tumbler!

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  2. ohhh that's fab, might get making an easter one, although it'd be cute as a sunflower :)

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  3. Clever girl, never imagined a pointy tumbler!

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  4. Clever use of the tumbler to make dresden petals--great idea!

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  5. I never thought of using tumblers to make a dresden plate. Brilliant!

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  6. Fantastic! This shape is definitely going onto my wishlist!

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