Lessons from an Old Fancy Dresden Plate Quilt

Click on the image above or HERE to see the YouTube video on this one.

Dresden Plate Quilts

Again, just like most of the old quilts in my collection, this one took me on a deep dive into the history of Dresden Plate quilt blocks. Although I found a lot of great information about them, there are some conflicting details. Of course, all of that doesn’t have anything to do with this quilt. We can still enjoy its beauty without knowing its history. Either way, this journey has left me curious.

One of the most interesting yet conflicting pieces of information I am finding is about the actual inspiration of the Dresden design. Some say the design was inspired by the marking on the bottom of the Dresden dishes, while others say it is the design on the dishes themselves. Personally, I believe it is the actual marking, but there is a lack of evidence of this because the majority of Dresden dishes did not survive WWII.

Here’s another interesting fact: Dresden, Germany is the home of Dresden Porcelain, although it had ties to nearby Meissen. Who knew? Did I mention the deep dive I took in the hunt for more information? I now know more than I should about Dresden, Germany. :) Anywho, here’s a link if you would like join me in this rabbit hole.

Now for some undisputed information: Dresden quilt patterns were most popular during the late 1920s until the 1950s. They are often referred to as Depression Quilts, although they became popular prior to The Great Depression and continued in popularity during and after that time period. These designs were considered modern at the time—can you relate to this? Think of the trends we have witnessed as quilters. This, too, was a wonderful trend in the 1920s. The makers wanted to be viewed as modern. Sound familiar?

According to the book Clues in the Calico: A Guide to Identifying and Dating Antique Quilts by Barbara Brackman, “People commonly refer to Wedding Rings and Dresden Plates and other characteristic quilts of the time as ‘Depression Quilts’, but the fashion for light clear colors, representational appliqué and a scrap look combined with a plain white cotton developed before the 1929 stock market crash and the economic crisis of the thirties, during the mid-twenties when American life was undergoing a different set of social changes. Women who bobbed their hair and shortened their skirts were apparently ready to take up quiltmaking as long as the look was modern” (29).

Sooooo fascinating! Everything old is new again. Can I get an amen?

Here are the general basics about Dresden Plate Quilt Blocks. Please note: There are exceptions to all rules, right? These are general truths.

1. The appliqué units are made and then appliquéd onto a solid background.

2. The Dresden plate units have 20 blades or fan pieces.

3. There are designs that use pointed blades, rounded blades, or a mix of the two as in this block. The mix makes it fancy!

4. The centers are usually a circle and are usually appliquéd in the center of the Dresden outer unit.

Let’s learn about this Fancy Dresden Plate Quilt.

Isn’t it a beauty?

Details About This Quilt

• Size: Approx. 75” x 100”

• Age: There was a tag on it that said it was made in 1962, but it could be incorrect information.

• Acquired: I purchased this quilt at charity thrift shop while vacationing in Florida in 2022. I paid $60.00 for this one.

• Quilt History: unknown

• Blocks Size: approx. 16” x 16”

• Number of Blocks: 24 Blocks

• Borders: 5” white borders on all sides

• Construction Technique: Completely constructed by hand. Wow! Amazing!

• Fabric: All cotton; almost reminds me of sheets for some reason; it could be made out of clothing

• Batting: Cotton

• Binding: Purple that matches the crosses over the Dresden plate blocks

• Condition: Good; most yellowing stains; no holes or tears

• Other Notes About This Quilt: All of the blocks have the same purple fabric as the appliquéd centers and cross; the other fabrics in the blocks vary, but coordinate within each block. There is a mix of florals, strips, ginghams, and even some fussy cutting of prints. There are between two and five additional fabrics (besides the purple and backgrounds) in each block. Fourteen blocks feature two additional fabrics; one blocks features three additional fabrics; eight blocks feature four additional fabrics; and one block features five fabrics. For this last block, it makes me wonder if the maker ran out and used another scrap. There is only one “blade” that is different, unlike the symmetry that is present with all of the other blocks.

Blocks

These blocks are absolutely stunning! I can’t help but see crosses in the blocks, with the purple fabrics making a cross-like design. It has an Easter feel to me, or at the very least, a spring feel to it. The blocks are made with coordinating fabric scraps for each block and with the exception of one block, are symmetrical. The maker put a lot of thought into the block design, in my opinion, adding to the beauty of this quilt and making each block unique while adding some cohesion as there are duplicates of fabrics between blocks. Each block measure 16” square and there are 24 blocks. As with traditional Dresden Plate blocks, there are 20 “blades”.

Quilting

First and foremost, the quilting is spectacular. The style, the stitches, all of it! Amazing! BUT it is also a bit weird. As you can see in the photo, the quilting is dense in the body of the quilt, especially in the centers of the Dresden plate blocks, at the intersections of the blocks, and on the edges. The quilting in the borders, however, does not seem to match the quilting in the main part of the quilt. Hmmm. That’s odd. Adding to this mystery is that the fabric also seems to be a different color. Odd, isn’t it? My first thought is that it was finished later, but the binding is the same fabric as the “cross” looking motif on the Dresden’s, you know, the part that makes it fancy. Hmmmm. Could it have been finished later? Did the maker finish it later or did someone else? So many questions! What do you think happened here?

Loose Threads?

Here’s something odd. Not one of the quilting threads are trimmed and/or knotted or buried on the back! This leads me to even more questions: how did the stitching stay in tact? Why wasn’t it finished? What happened? I need to know! :)

Sometimes—most of the time, actually—I never do find out the answers to these burning questions. Bummer. I really want to know!

Batting

I love putting old quilts up in front of a window (temporally, of course). It allows me to see the batting. You can see how the cotton batting has clumped together in the quilt and makes the quilting stand out. I love the look of this. Bonus: The entire quilt looks like stain glass! Love that!

Binding

Adding to the consistency of the overall quilt, the binding is made from the same purple fabric that is in the Dresden plate and the orange-peel style overlay in the Dresden’s center.

The binding is a separate piece that was attached by hand to the front and then attached to the back by hand using a whip stitch.

Look at the Ladies!

Oh, wow! Look at the those fussy cut (or focus cut) blades! Do you see the ladies? The maker cut the blades so that the motifs are in the blade. I just love that! The maker did this in a few of the blocks. So cool!

Lessons We Can Learn

Although there are many lessons we can learn as modern-day quilters from this quilt, here are a few I chose. Let me know if you can think of others.

1. Binding Matching Appliqué: Although this is technically a scrappy quilt, that purple fabric in the Dresden plate block coupled with the same fabric used for the binding gives it a wonderfully cohesive look. What a wonderful way to add a little sparkle to the quilt.

2. Focus (or Fussy) Cutting Blades: Imagine my surprise when I noticed these little motifs were perfectly cut to match the fan blades. So sweet! This is a great way we can add a little bit of whimsy and surprise to our own quilts.

3. Organized Scrappy: I love that the maker used scraps, but also organized the scraps within the blocks. So smart!

4. Not Hung Up on Rules: The maker wasn’t hung up on making sure each block had a certain amount of fabrics represented. Some of the blocks contain two scrappy elements (sans the purple and white) and some have five, yet it still goes together well.

5. Color Theme: As I mentioned before, this quilt has a Easter or spring feel to it. The colors used, albeit scrappy, are all within the same color family. I know this is something I can learn from this maker.

Thank you so much for reading about this beautiful old quilt.

Kris