THE QUILT BLOCK CENTRE STAR YOU NEED!

FREE QAYG ALONG PART 12

The interesting thing about this block is it is actually made up of 4 blocks rotated to create the starburst design.

I wanted to design something special for the centre of the quilt to be the main focal point with all of the other blocks floating around the edge.

And it can make a great repetitive pattern for a quilt-as-you-go quilt! Check out how stunning this design looks in a full king-sized quilt-as-you-go quilt made by Patrice Dodd!

Isn't it amazing? Read on to see how to make your own Starburst block!

At first glance, this block might look a little confusing, but when you break it down, it starts with a simple triangle template that forms the diamond centre with all the other pieces stitched and flipped around the edge. Read on to see how easy it is to make the template and the block.

This is another stich and flip, QAYG design that would look great as a cushion or as a repetitive design in a quilt.

Please note that these QAYG blocks are suitable to be joined together with the easy cover strip method on the front or on the back of the quilt. They can also be joined with the joining strip method, if you would like to use the joining strip method then cut your batting to the same size as the backing fabric.

Here are the cutting instructions to make 1 block, if you’re joining in with our FREE QAYG-ALONG then you’ll need to make 4. I made each block in a different fabric combination to tie in with my whimsical scrap quilt theme but if you prefer a more organised look, you could make each block in the same fabric combination. There will be some leftover scraps when your blocks are complete so save them because we’ll make a video on crumb quilting in the future.

CENTRE DIAMOND (CHOOSE 2 FABRICS)

MAKE THE TRIANGLE TEMPLATE AS INSTRUCTED BELOW

CUT 1 TRIANGLE FROM EACH FABRIC

DIAMOND BORDER

CUT TWO: 1 ½” X 5 ¼” RECTANGLES

CUT TWO: 1 ½” X 7 ½” RECTANGLES

STAR PONTS (CHOOSE 2 FABRICS)

SHORTER BOTTOM STAR POINT CUT ONE: 3” X 9” RECTANGLE

LONGER SIDE STAR POINT CUT ONE: 3” X 10” RECTANGLE

BACKGROUND FABRIC (NON-DIRECTIONAL PRINT)

CUT TWO: 3” X 8” RECTANGLES (8" is economical and just fits, cut at 9" if you like)

CUT ONE: 5 ¾” SQUARE

(CUT THE SQUARE ONCE ON THE DIAGONAL)

BACKING

CUT ONE: 10” SQUARE

BATTING

CUT ONE: 9” SQUARE

How to make the template

To make the template you will need a sheet of plain printer paper. Fold one edge over by about 3” making sure it is nice and level on both side edges. Measure and mark a dot that is 2 3/8” from the fold across the bottom edge using a nice sharp pencil.

From the bottom edge, measure 3 7/8” up the folded edge and mark a dot. Connect the dots and draw a line. Cut on the line with a rotary cutter or scissors. (I have a rotary cutter that I use for paper only)

Unfold the paper and you will have a triangle, it should measure 4 ¾” across the bottom and be 3 7/8” high. Make sure you label the bottom edge and mark the grainline on the centre crease. This is important so you don’t get the sides of the triangle mixed up. (The sides will be stretchy because they are cut on the bias grain).

Cut out the triangles

Cut out 2 triangles from 2 different fabrics. To do this, take your 2 pieces of fabric, place them together with the wrong sides facing up, place your paper template on top and hold in place with some dots of fabric glue. Cut around the template with a rotary cutter. (I worked with the wrong side of the fabric facing up so that I didn’t get glue on the right side of my fabric). Of course, if you want to, you can fussy cut your pieces separately.

Mark the bottom edge of the fabric triangles so that you don’t get them mixed up.

Mark up the block

Position your backing fabric with the wrong side facing up and centre the batting on top so that you have a ½” gap around all 4 side edges. If you like you can hold the layers together with a light application of quilt basting spray.

To mark up the block, first of all, draw a diagonal line from corner to corner, and then draw a diagonal line from the opposite corner to corner making an X. I used a sharp 4B lead pencil, this is a soft lead and it marks easily onto the batting. Don’t press too hard as dark lines can show through on lighter fabrics.

Now, from the top corner, measure down 4 ¼”and make a mark, from the same corner measure across 4 ¼” on the top edge and make a mark. Connect the marks and draw a diagonal line. Do the same to the opposite corner.

Mark a line that is a quarter inch below the diagonal line as shown in the diagram below, mark this line 2” either side of the centre line.

Set up your machine

Thread your machine with a neutral-coloured thread, choose a thread that will also blend with your backing fabric and insert a size 80 quilting needle. I like to use a stitch length of 3 when sewing through batting, this is slightly longer than the regular length. Attach your ¼” foot or use your standard foot with the needle position moved over to give you a measurement of a ¼” between the needle and the edge of the foot.

Before you start your block, here are some stitch n flip tips.

1. So that the stitches don’t cross over on the back and look messy, mark the start and finish of every row of stitching with a dot that is a ¼” away from the edge of the underneath fabric.

2. Sew from dot to dot beginning and ending each row with an automatic tie off, if you don’t have this function on your machine, use a little reverse stitch.

3. Trim all excess fabric back to a ¼” seam allowance as you go, especially dark fabrics as they could show through the light fabrics on top.

4. Press each seam as you go using the tip of your iron, being careful not to touch the batting just in case your batting does not like the iron. (This is why I recommend using a cotton batting)

How to make the block

Take one triangle and fold it in half across the bottom edge and make a crease, align the bottom edge of the triangle with the 1/4" line, aligning the centre crease with the centre diagonal line. Make sure that the top point of the triangle is also aligned with the centre diagonal line. Take your other triangle and place it on top with the right side facing down, making sure that all edges are aligned.

Mark 2 dots that are a ¼” in from both opposite ends on the bottom edge of the triangles. Sew from dot.

Flip the top triangle over to the right side. Gently press the seam. Use a little fabric glue to hold the points in place so that they are perfectly aligned with the centre marked lines.

Sew the diamond border strips onto the edges of the centre diamond, starting with the shorter strips on opposite side edges. Position all border strips a ¼” past the side edges of the diamond, this will allow extra fabric at the top and bottom to form the diamond points when the strips have been flipped to the right side.

When the shorter border strips have been stitched, flip them to the right side and press. Stitch and flip the longer border strips in the same way.

Trim the excess length of the longer border strips to the diamond shape. To do this, place your ruler along the outer edge of the shorter border strips and mark a line that extends across the longer strips making the points. If the border strips are not long enough to make the points you will need to unpick and move them up. Do the same on the other side. Cut on the marked lines. Align the outer points of the diamond with the marked diagonal lines and hold in place with some dots of glue.

Sew the background rectangles onto the top side edges of the diamond. To do this, place the first strip right sides together with the first edge, positioning it a ¼” below the side corner and a ¼” above the edge of the backing fabric. Mark the ¼” dots then stitch, flip and press.

Position the other background rectangle onto the opposite top side edge in the same way. Mark the ¼” dot at the side of the diamond only then stitch from the dot to the outer edge of the backing square. When flipped, this piece should cover the corner of the backing square. Trim the excess fabric from the seam and press.

Flip the block to the back and trim level with the backing square.

Sew the shorter star point rectangle onto the lower right-side edge of the diamond. To do this, place the rectangle right sides together with the diamond, positioning the bottom edge of the strip level with the batting that is ½” away from the backing fabric and making sure that the top of the strip extends past the side diagonal line. Mark the top dot a ¼”away from the side diagonal line and the bottom dot a ¼”away from the diamond point. Stitch from dot to dot, flip and press.

Sew the longer star point rectangle onto the lower left edge of the diamond. To do this, place the rectangle right sides together with the diamond, positioning the bottom edge of the strip a ¼”past the backing fabric and making sure that the top of the strip extends past the side diagonal line. Mark the top dot a ¼” away from the side diagonal line only. Rotate the block and start sewing level with the backing square and finishing at the dot. Check that when you flip this strip, the right bottom corner of the block is covered. Trim and press.

Flip your block over to the back and trim the excess fabric level with the backing square.

Remark the side corner lines, lift the fabric up to make sure you are marking the line correctly, and then trim away the excess fabric cutting on the marked line.

Sew on the side triangles. To do this, place a triangle right sides together with your block, Gently fold the bias edge in half and finger crease to indicate the centre, align the centre crease with the centre diagonal line on the batting and pin it in place. Position the opposite triangle in the same way. Stitch the triangles, sewing from edge to edge of the block.

Flip the triangles and press. Turn your block over to the back and trim level with the backing square and here is our finished block.

Make all of your blocks in the same order, just like the log cabin block. Rotate the blocks to form the star desi

gn.

At this stage I am just trimming all my blocks to the same size as the backing square but I will measure all of my blocks and trim them to the same size before joining them together. You can expect some shrinkage when making stitch and flip QAYG blocks, it’s looking like mine will all be trimmed to 9 3/4” square.

Here are all of my blocks positioned around the centre star, I'm still not sure what order they will go in. Only 6 blocks to go!

Watch the video tutorial to see how it is done! Have fun making this xx