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

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

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

Putting It All Together:

Step 3:

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

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.

Step 5:

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

Step 6:

Now sew the three rows together.

Step 7:

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

This is an on-point example with an alternating chain block that is also used in the setting triangles.

Here's another on-point example with scrappy blocks, dark sashing and cornerstones, and colored setting triangles.

I 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. For more star blocks check out this blog post: https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/30-of-the-best-star-quilt-block-patterns

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