Dresden Plate Template Generator: Printable Blades, Any Size

Dresden plate template generator

Turn on JavaScript to draw the templates. The formulas are further down this page.

Print at 100% or “actual size” and measure the 1-inch square before you cut anything. The dashed line is the cutting line and the solid line is the sewing line; the dotted line down the middle of the blade is the fold line for pointed tips. If the blade and the circle don't fit on one page, the circle prints on a second page. Blades longer than about 8½ inches won't fit on Letter at all; use the Download SVG file for those, or tape two sheets together.

The geometry behind the blades

A Dresden plate is a circle cut into equal wedges. With n blades, each one covers 360 ÷ n degrees: 18 degrees for 20 blades, 22.5 for 16, 30 for 12. The finished sides of every blade run in a straight line toward the center of the plate. That's what makes the plate lie flat; a blade that's even a fraction of a degree off adds up over 20 seams, and the plate cups or won't close.

Measurement	Formula
Blade angle	360 ÷ n
Plate radius R	finished diameter ÷ 2
Inner end of the blade, r	(center radius − ⅜ in) × cos(180 ÷ n), so the circle covers the raw ends by ⅜ in
Blade length, as cut	R + ¼ in − r
Width at the top, as cut	2 × (R + ¼) × tan(180 ÷ n) + 2 × ¼ ÷ cos(180 ÷ n)
Rounded tip	the circle that touches both finished sides with its top on the plate edge: radius R × sin(180 ÷ n) ÷ (1 + sin(180 ÷ n))

A pointed tip is made by folding the wide end in half and sewing straight across it. When the blade is turned right side out, the seam lies down the middle of the back and the point lands exactly on the top sewing line, so the template is a plain wedge cut ¼ inch above the plate edge. The finished point is a right angle.

Sizes at a glance

Blades	Finished plate	Center	Blade length (cut)	Top width (cut)	Blades per 40-in strip	Background, finished
12	12 in	3 in	5.16 in	3.87 in	15	16 in
16	12 in	3 in	5.15 in	3.00 in	19	16 in
16	16 in	4 in	6.66 in	3.79 in	15	20 in
18	18 in	4½ in	7.40 in	3.77 in	15	22 in
20	16 in	4 in	6.65 in	3.12 in	18	20 in
20	18 in	4 in	7.65 in	3.44 in	17	22 in
24	20 in	5 in	8.14 in	3.20 in	18	24 in

Cut strips as wide as the blade is long, rounded up to the next ⅛ inch (a 6.65-inch blade comes from a 6¾-inch strip), and turn the template end for end on every cut so the blades nest. The background sizes leave at least 2 inches of space around the plate on every side; for a plate that's the star of a wall hanging, go bigger.

Choosing the numbers

Blade count changes the look more than you'd expect. Twelve blades give a bold, chunky plate with wide petals, good for large prints and for showing off a fussy-cut motif in each blade. Twenty is the familiar plate. Twenty-four or more make narrow blades that read as a sunburst, and they need more care at the points because there's less fabric to fold.

An even blade count lets you alternate two fabrics; a count divisible by 3 or 4 allows a three- or four-fabric repeat. The preview colors the blades so you can see the repeat before cutting.

The center circle has two jobs: it covers the raw inner ends of the blades, and it sets the proportion of the plate. The generator places the inner end of each blade so the circle overlaps it by ⅜ inch. A center about a quarter of the plate's width is the classic proportion. Very small centers make the inner ends of the blades narrow and fiddly to sew.

Tips

Sew the blades together in pairs, then pairs of pairs, then halves. Checking the plate at the half stage catches a drifting seam before it's too late.
Sew from the outer edge toward the center, and backstitch at the outer edge where the seams show.
If the finished plate cups, the seams are a little too narrow; if it won't close, they're too wide. Adjusting a few seams by a thread or two usually fixes it.
Press the seams all in one direction around the plate, or open, but not toward alternate blades; that makes the plate lumpy.

The full method, including turning pointed and rounded tips and stitching the plate to the background, is in the Dresden plate block guide. Dresden blades can also be English paper pieced: cut paper wedges on the solid sewing line of this template and baste a blade over each one, as in the English paper piecing guide. For other printable shapes, try the hexagon template generator and the curved template generator.

Dresden plate template generator