Dresden Sunflower Table Mat Sewing Tutorial
Sew a festive fall Dresden Sunflower Table Mat in an evening—made with the Easy Dresden Ruler Template and triple-dyed Bali Batik Palettes Harvest fabrics by Benartex. We’re sewing our Dresden Table Mat with the Bali Batik Harvest Fat Quarter Pack by Benartex. Plus the last day to meet Benertex fabric designers at The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show!
Last Day: Meet the Fabric Designers: Stephanie Sheridan, Lisa Swenson Ruble and Kari Matthews in the Benartex Designer Fabrics Gallery at The Nancy Zieman Sewing Studio & Quilt Shop Booth in the Vendor Mall at The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show!
Approx. finished size 14″
Dresden Sunflower Table Mat Supplies
Six Coordinating Fabrics, Fat Quarters work well for this project
Pellon ShirTailor Fusible Interfacing
Clover’s New! Hot Hemmer Square
Clover’s “Quick Cut” Thread Cutter
Clover’s Straight Tailor’s Awl Stiletto
Clover’s Rotary Cutter, mat, and ruler
Schmetz Chrome Universal Sewing Machine Needles Size 80
June Tailor’s Quilter’s Starch Savvy
June Tailor’s Eze-View Pressing Cloth
You’re the designer, choose your favorite fabrics to create the Dresden Sunflower Table Mat, Team NZP chose the following.
Prepare your fabrics! Pre-shrink fabrics by steaming and pressing. Then, stabilize fabrics for the sewing process by pressing and starching fabrics with Quilter’s Starch Savvy.
We’re making our Dresden Table Mat with BaliBatik Harvest Fat Quarter Pack by Benartex, inspired by the above photo of Nancy Zieman’s original Sunflower Table Mat.
- Choose six coordinating fabrics, five will be Dresden wedges, one will be for center circle.
- Cut 5-1/2″ Crosswise Fabric from five fabrics.
- Using the Easy Dresden Ruler Template cut four wedges from five fabrics of your choice.
- Cut a total of 20 wedges per complete Dresden circle.
- Fold wedges right sides together, stitch wedges 1/4″.
- Chain stitch wedges together.
Dresden Fall Sunflower Table Mat Sewing Tutorial
- Using Clover’s “Quick Cut” Thread Cutter or scissors, clip threads between wedges.
- Using Clover’s Point 2 Point turner, turn points right sides out.
- Using Clover’s NEW! Hot Hemmer Square, align seam and diagonal marking, press.
- Repeat steps above with all wedges.
- With right sides together, stitch Dresden wedges.
- Continue to stitch wedges together.
- Five Dresden wedges will create one quarter of the Dresden circle.
- Press seams open or to one side.
- Use Tailor’s Clapper to set seam.
- Repeat steps above to create four quarters for the Dresden circle.
- Stitch top two assemblies together.
- Stitch bottom two assemblies together.
- Stitch top and bottom assemblies together.
Create Center Circle
- Cut a one 6-1/2″ square from coordinating fabric and Pellon’s ShirTailor Interfacing, right sides together, glue dots facing up.
We’re making a 6″ center circle.
- Using Clover’s 5-in-1 Sliding Gauge and Frixion Pen create 6″ Circle.
- Pin
- Stitch using a short stitch around circle.
When using a pinking blade, cut on the back side of cutting mat.
- Use a rotary pinking blade to remove excess fabric, approx. 1/4″ from stitching line.
- Remove the excess interfacing from within the circles, leaving approx.1″ of interfacing.
- Turn the interfacing to the wrong side.
- Use a Clover’s Point 2 Point Turner to smooth the curves.
- Using June Tailor’s Eze-View Pressing Cloth press ShirTailor Interfacing to wrong side of fabric.
- Center Dresden Sunflower.
- Using Clover’s 5-in-1 Sliding Gauge, enter center circle onto sunflower assembly.
- Pin and edgestitch with coordinating or monofilament thread. Choose a straight stitch, blanket stitch, or other decorative stitch.
Add Backing
Team NZP chose Wool Felt for backing.
- Turn table mat wrong side up.
- Measure the diameter from valley to valley of matching wedge.
- Subtract an 1/8″ to 1/4″ from this measurement.
- Using Clover’s Supersize 5-in-1 Sliding Gauge and Frixion Marking Pen, create backing circle on wool felt.
- Cut out backing circle.
- Pin or use fabric glue to hold backing in place.
- Place backing on wrong side of sunflower table mat.
- Hand stitch Wool Felt backing in place around the perimeter, catching finished points.
- Your Dresden Sunflower Table Mat is complete!
Dresden Sunflower Table Mat Supplies
Six Coordinating Fabrics, Fat Quarters work well for this project
Pellon ShirTailor Fusible Interfacing
Clover’s New! Hot Hemmer Square
Clover’s “Quick Cut” Thread Cutter
Clover’s Straight Tailor’s Awl Stiletto
Clover’s Rotary Cutter, mat, and ruler
Schmetz Chrome Universal Sewing Machine Needles Size 80
June Tailor’s Quilter’s Starch Savvy
June Tailor’s Eze-View Pressing Cloth
Join Deanna Springer –LIVE IN PERSON– for her Patriotic Patchwork Projects for America250 Lecture at The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show, 1pm daily, Sept 10-12, 2026! Register today at QuiltShow.com.
Sew a plethora of patriotic projects with easy Quilt As You Go (QAYG). See how to efficiently die cut star quilt blocks and appliques with AccuQuilt. Learn how to piece No-Hassle half-square triangles. Plus a free pattern from Bernartex! See a trunk show of Americana projects to sew for Semiquincentennial! $12 advance ticket price. Register today at QuiltShow.com.
Join Denise Abel –LIVE IN PERSON– for her Piece And Quilt In The Hoop With An Embroidery Machine Lecture at The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show, 11:30am daily, September 10–12, 2026 Register today at QuiltShow.com.
Piece and Quilt in the Hoop with an Embroidery Machine-Create stunning quilts by piecing and quilting in the hoop. Learn how to piece a perfect block all in the hoop of an embroidery machine. Then see how computerized machine quilting can add a bold mix of traditional, florals, and geometric motifs for quilting your next project. Register today at QuiltShow.com!
Last Day: Meet the Fabric Designers: Stephanie Sheridan, Lisa Swenson Ruble and Kari Matthews in the Benartex Designer Fabrics Gallery at The Nancy Zieman Sewing Studio & Quilt Shop Booth in the Vendor Mall at The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show!
Register today for the The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show, September 10-12, 2026 at The Exhibition Hall at The Alliant Energy Center in Madison Wisconsin.
Shop Bali Batik Fabric by Benertex at ShopNZp.com
Happy Sewing!
Team Nancy Zieman & The Stitch it! Sisters
Nancy Zieman Productions. LLC.
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