Blocks and Stars Traditional Quilt Block Tutorial

By: Elaine Huff

Today let's look at this traditional quilt block called Blocks and Stars. It is similar to some of the braced star patterns but has the addition of the blocks in the corners. It's an easy design so let's get sewing!

blocks and stars quilt block

Fabric Requirements for a 12" Finished Blocks and Stars Quilt Block:

  • Light/White: 2 - 5.5" squares, and 20 - 2.5" squares
  • Medium/Green: 2 - 5.5" squares, and 1 - 4.5" square
  • Medium/Pink: 2 - 4.5" squares
  • Dark/Burgundy: 2 - 4.5" squares

blocks and stars fabric requirements

Sewing Directions:

Square in a Square Units:

Step 1:

Using the Medium/Green, Medium/Pink, and Dark/Burgundy 4.5" squares and the Light/White 2.5" squares, sew together five Square in a Square units as shown below. You can find the tutorial for making a Square in a Square block at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-square-in-a-square-block

blocks and stars 1

Hourglass Units:

Step 2:

Next you can sew together four Hourglass units using the Light/White and Medium/Green 5.5" squares like the ones shown in the picture below. You will find my tutorial for making an Hourglass (or Quarter Square Triangle) block at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-hourglass-or-quarter-square-triangle-block

blocks and stars 2

newsletter signup

Putting It All Together:

Step 3:

Lay out the Step 1 and 2 units as shown in the picture below.

blocks and stars 3

Step 4:

From here the block goes together just like a basic Nine Patch block. First, sew the units into three rows as shown below.

blocks and stars 4

Step 5:

Press the seam allowances toward the Hourglass units as shown below.

blocks and stars 5

Step 6:

Now sew the three rows together.

blocks and stars 6

Step 7:

And press the seam allowances away from the center of the block as shown in the picture below. All done!

blocks and stars 7

Conclusion:

The Blocks and Stars quilt block was fun to sew together. Quick and easy - so satisfying!

Layout/Color Options:

Since this is such a short tutorial I thought I'd put together some color and layout ideas for you.

This first one is just a plain layout and it's kind of blah - the star doesn't really show up very well.

blocks and stars quilt 1

Here I've put a plain block in between the Blocks and Stars block and it looks better.

blocks and star quilt 2

In this example, I've put a simple chain block in between the main blocks - much better! (In my opinion anyway-lol)

blocks and stars quilt 3

Here I did the original plain layout but put a blue in for the white around the center square. I think this helped make the star stand out better.

blocks and stars quilt 6

Of course, I love my scrappy quilts so here's an option. This one is probably my favorite. I added the dark blue for cornerstones and the diamond shape in the center of the block.

blocks and stars quilt 4

And here is another scrappy option with the alternating chain block.

blocks and stars quilt 5

hope you've enjoyed the Blocks and Stars quilt block and layouts. If you liked this post and want to see more quilting tutorials like this, simply click here to sign up for my newsletter and also receive a free PDF quilt pattern called Chained Weathervane.

Happy Quilting!

Elaine

P.S. To print a PDF of this tutorial, check out the free app at https://www.printfriendly.com/

P.P.S. To figure out yardage for a quilt, check out this post: https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-much-fabric-do-i-need