This wonderful Woven Star block gets its name from its appearance. The way the pieces sit together make it look like the fabrics have been woven together, just like a basket. But this block isn’t a basket it’s a brilliant star! So, let’s get busy weaving our Woven Star.
WOVEN STAR QUILT BLOCK
Finished Size 12″ (Unfinished 12-1/2″)
Woven Star is our eleventh block and although it’s not too difficult to construct it is easy to get all the colours in the wrong places! It is made with ‘Half Square Triangles’, ‘Quarter Square Triangles’ and ‘Flying Geese’ units. All these units can be made in more than one way but I’m going to show you the way I made my Woven Star block. So, let’s get started!
CUTTING
You will need four fabric colours for this block as well as the background fabric.
A. Four 3-1/2″ x 3-1/2″ squares (white)
B. Four 6-3/4″ x 3-3/4″ rectangles (white)
C. Two 3-3/4″ x 3-3/4″ squares (red)
D. Two 3-3/4″ x 3-3/4″ squares (pink)
E. Two 3-3/4″ x 3-3/4″ squares (blue)
F. Two 3-3/4″ x 3-3/4″ squares (turquoise)
G. One 4-3/4″ x 4-3/4″ square (red)
H. One 4-3/4″ x 4-3/4″ square (pink)
I. One 4-3/4″ x 4-3/4″ square (blue)
J. One 4-3/4″ x 4-3/4″ square (turquoise)
The background fabrics for this block are A & B.
BLOCK ASSEMBLY:
- All seams are 1/4″ and I use a stitch length of 1.8.
- As a rule, you would press your fabric seams towards the dark side (darker fabric) but not always. I finger press my seams before pressing with an iron. This allows me to change the seams’ direction if needed without stretching my fabrics.
- In bulky areas press your seams open as this will help reduce thickness.
We are going to begin with the flying geese units. I make mine a little oversized then trim them to the exact size. I don’t mind losing a little fabric if I end up with a block that is the right size.
I’m going to start with the flying geese unit on the top edge of the block. You can get a little confused with what goes where so lay out all your flying geese units before you begin.
Take one of your 6-3/4″ x 3-3/4″ white rectangles fabric B and one of your 3-3/4″ x 3-3/4″ blue and red fabric squares E and C. Now draw a diagonal line from corner to corner on the wrong side of your two small fabric squares.
Place the blue square E right sides together (RST) on top of your fabric rectangle B, lining up the left-hand side and top edges. Stitch on the line.
Next trim away the excess corner fabric leaving a 1/4″ seam allowance. Now finger press the seam to the dark side (fabric E), then press with your iron to fix.
Repeat for the right-hand corner by placing one of your red fabric C squares RST on top of fabric B, lining up the right-hand side and top. Stitch on the line. Trim away the excess corner fabric leaving a 1/4″ seam allowance. Then finger press your seam to the dark side and fix with your iron.
Now it’s time to trim your Flying Geese unit to the correct size 6-1/2″ x 3-1/2″. Line up your ruler so that it sits 1/4″ away from your white triangle point making sure your ruler is aligned as straight as possible. I have used the 45° diagonal lines on my ruler to line up my block before trimming away the excess fabric, but if your ruler doesn’t have 45° diagonal lines make sure your ruler is as straight as possible by using its line markings to help you. When you are happy it’s straight, trim!
Trim away all the remaining excess fabric so your flying geese unit measures 6-1/2″ x 3-1/2″. Make sure that your ruler’s 3-1/4″ line runs through the centre of your block vertically and the bottom of your unit sits on the 3-1/2″ line.
Make three more flying geese units in the colour combinations shown in the image above. You should now have four in total.
The centre of this block is made from ‘Split Quarter Square Triangles’ (SQST), these units are also known as ‘Half Quarter Square Triangles’ (HQST). We are going to make these units slightly larger and then trim them to size for accuracy.
Take your four large 4-3/4″ fabric squares G to J and cut them in half diagonally making eight Half Square Triangles (HST).
Then take half of your HST and cut them in half to make eight Quarter Square Triangles (QST). Make sure you align your ruler with the longest edge (see left image above) before you cut them.
Lay out your first central SQST unit.
Place your turquoise QST on top of your red QST with RST, align the bottom and right-hand edges and sew along the right side (see image above).
Open out your unit and finger press your seam towards the red fabric before fixing with your iron.
Place your QST on top of your blue HST with RST, align the longest edge (see image above) pin in place and sew. Open your unit and finger press your seam towards the blue fabric before fixing with your iron.
Now we need to square up our SQST unit. Place your ruler with its 45-deg. line running along the seam line of the two small triangles, you should find that your ruler’s 1-3/4″ lines meet in the centre. Now look at the edges of your ruler, its 3-1/2″ lines should rest on the seam of the large triangle (see image above). Trim away excess fabric along the top right and left sides, then turn your unit and repeat.
Now make three more SQST units, giving you a total of four in the above colour combinations.
Lay out all your units to form the Woven Star quilt block.
Take your four centre units and sew them together into two rows. Finger press your seams in the direction of the arrows (middle image) before fixing with an iron. Finally join your rows together nesting your seams and matching your centre points then finish by pressing your seam open.
Keeping your fabrics in order sew your block together one row at a time. Finger press your seams in the direction of the arrows (left image) before fixing with an iron. Finally join your rows together matching your points as you go and then press your seams open (right image).
If you have sewn your block together accurately it should measure 12-1/2″ square but if you need to trim it make sure you leave 1/4″ seam allowance on all your points.
Eleven blocks sewn, super job!
