I am always under a deadline for something so I need to get creative really fast.  Maybe you find the same thing happening when you need a last minute gift.  I love using the tools in EQStitch to quickly develop a design ready to be stitched in minutes.

1.  Double click on the EQStitch icon on the desktop to launch the program.

2.  Once your program opens, name a project file for yourself. I am calling mine ‘Variation on Dresden Plate’. Be sure to click ‘OK ‘ at the bottom of the box.

3.  If you have been changing your settings in the program for other projects, be sure to reset the defaults for the project before you start.

Click on FILE>Preferences and restore the default settings.

Relaunch the program and open the project file named ‘Variation on Dresden Plate’.

4.  Click on the ‘stitch worktable’ icon at the top of the screen. 

5.  Click on the ‘drawing board options box’ to change the options for this projects drawing.

Set the Embroidery Fill stitch to ‘smooth’ and the Embroidery Edge Stitch to ‘no edge’.  Be sure to click the ‘OK’ in the bottom of the box to set the new preferences.

6.  Click on the ‘hide/show patch’ icon on the properties bar at the top of the screen to turn the patch off.

Click and hold down on the ‘polygon’ tool to get the fly out menu.  

Click on the 4th icon in the menu  to select the diamond shape.

Move the cursor over to the drawing board and start at the center of the board and drag upwards to create a diamond that falls directly on the vertical line.

7.  Click on the ‘shape tool’ to select it.  Move the cursor over to the diamond shape and click once directly on the line drawing to see the edit nodes.

Using the shape tool, click/hold/drag/release the side nodes upwards so they create a point at the top of the shape which resembles a Dresden Plate blade.

8.  Click on the blade shape with the ‘pick tool’  to select the new object shape.

Click on the ‘wreathmaker icon’ on the properties bar at the top of the screen.

In the wreathmaker box, set the number of clusters to 12, cluster spacing to 100%, and resize cluster to 100%. Click ‘OK’ in the bottom of the box.

The variation of a dresden plate is now on the artwork tab.

9.  Click on the stitch tab at the bottom of the screen.

Click on the ‘set thread’ tool on the toolbar.

Click on any thread color to select it and then click on the fan blade to color the fill stitches.

Click on the ‘set fill stitches’ tool on the toolbar and select a different fill type for every other fan blade.

I love the dramatic look of this variation on the Dresden Plate design.  When stitched with bright color threads on a dark background fabric, you can really see the inner star shape that appears between the blades.  This would make a nice design for a pillow top.  It stitches fairly quickly and you can produce a nice unique gift made by you in no time at all.