Making the skirt
- Cut strips the width shown. Lay the wedge across a strip and turn it end over end for each cut.
- Sew the wedges together on the dashed lines, leaving one seam open for the back. Add ties or snaps later to close it round the stand.
- The opening and outer edge have no seam allowance: bind them and both sides of the back opening in one length. With pointed tips, only the opening and back need binding.
How the wedge is drawn
Each wedge is 360° divided by the number of wedges. The sewing lines run straight out from the center, and the cutting lines run parallel to them one seam allowance outside. The narrow ends make a many-sided hole the size of your opening.
Example: a 48 in round skirt of 12 wedges with a 4 in opening needs 22 in strips. A 40 in strip gives 4 wedges, so 3 strips (1 7/8 yd), and about 208 in of binding.
Questions
Which edge should I choose?
Curved is the easiest to bind. Straight has corners to miter. Pointed tips are folded, so the outer edge needs no binding.
How much binding do I need?
The page adds up the outer edge (unless the tips are pointed), the tree opening and both sides of the back slit. Allow a little extra for joins and corners.
What if the wedge is too big to print?
It prints over several pages with glue tabs. Or mark it straight onto fabric with a long ruler, using the measurements under the template.
Why is the finished size a little bigger than I typed?
The strip width is rounded up to the next 1/8 in (or 5 mm) to make cutting easy.
Wedge geometry and pointed-tip folding follow the Dresden plate sources on the Dresden plate page.