Dresden Blades are much easier than they look and do not need special templates, depending upon the blade size. The sister block – Dresden Plate – with its curved or ends is a little more complicated.
You can make Dresden Blades from some commercially available rulers, not necessarily marketed for that purpose. For example, CreativeGrids makes several rulers in various sizes that would work perfectly. To pick the perfect ruler, all you need to know is how many blades you would like in a quadrant. For example, the quadrant to the right has nine blades. Since a quadrant has 90-degrees and nine blades, each blade is – you guessed it – 10-degrees.
Here is quick list of blades and respective degrees, for which there are readily available rulers.
Rulers can be combined to make longer blades. Just keep the angles constant and use a straight ruler to increase the length. Be sure to add the same amount to each blade to make them even.
If you want a different number of blades, say seven or eight, you can make your own templates using a compass. Divide 90-degrees by the number of blades to determine the angle you need. Once you measure the angle you want, add 1/4-inch to each side for the seam allowance. If you don’t, your blade will be too small!
In the next post, let’s discuss how to calculate the blade length and recommended block size.
Happy Quilting!
Laureen