Lesson # 9 - The Star Block
The 8 Pointed Star
or the Sawtooth Star
Quilters love their stars.
Again, this is a versatile block that can be combined with other shapes to make
wonderful patterns.
There are all kinds of stars, from
the structured Ohio Star and Lemoyne Star to the whimsical,
freehand country stars that are appliquéd to quilts.
In this lesson we are going to be focusing
on the 8-pointed star. It is the easiest pieced star to make, and uses
only two shapes - already covered in other lessons-
squares and the
flying geese.
Here are the pieces you will need:
4 flying geese units
one large
square
4 small squares
Make four
flying geese units.
Next cut a 4 1/2 inch square for the center, and four
2 1/2-inch squares for the corners.
The star to the left is white, with a
dark background. However, it is more common for the background to
be white.
Sew together the rows, pressing the 1st and 3rd row
away from the center, and the middle
row toward from the center so that your seams will be going in opposite
directions when you join the vertical rows.
Sew together the vertical
seams. Your star is done.
You should have a 1/4 inch from the end of the star points
to the edge of the background fabric.
You can trim you square a bit, as
long as you leave the 1/4 inch from the end of the points to the edge of
the background fabric. If your star isn't perfectly square, your
sewing and marking were not exact. Practice!
Always make small projects when you
start sewing. There are so many things you can do with even a
small piece of quilted fabric, such as table runners, and wall hangings.
Here is one that I did and just hung over a chair over a piece of lace.
When stars are right next to each other, as
in this scrappy small quilt, you may get
confused on how to turn the stars so that the seams turn opposite directions.
It is not always possible, but the
better the construction and seam direction, the nicer the quilt.
On to Lesson
#10 -
Square in a Star
