Diamond Star Quilt Block Tutorial

By: Elaine Huff

Today let's look at the Diamond Star quilt block. There are other blocks out there that go by the same name but this is the one published by Aunt Martha Studios. Traditionally, the block uses three colors plus the background but, once again, I had to add in another color. Let's get started!

Fabric Requirements for a 12" Finished Diamond Star Quilt Block:

Light/White: 8 - 3" squares, and 8 - 2.5" squares
Medium 1/Blue Tonal: 6 - 3" squares
Medium 2/Blue Print: 2 - 3" squares, and 4 - 2.5" squares
Medium 3/Pink: 2 - 3" squares, and 4 - 2.5" squares
Dark/Blue: 4 - 4.5" squares, and 2 - 3" squares

Sewing Directions:

Center Unit:

Step 1:

Using the Medium 2/Blue Print 3" squares and the Medium 3/Pink 3" squares, sew together four Half Square Triangles (trim to 2.5" square) and then sew the Half Square Triangles together to make a Pinwheel unit. You can find my directions for sewing a Pinwheel block at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/pinwheel-quilt-block-pattern

Square in a Square Units:

Step 2:

Next you can sew together four Square in a Square units using the four Dark/Blue 4.5" squares, eight Light/White 2.5" squares, four Medium 2/Blue Print 2.5" squares, and four Medium 3/Pink 2.5" squares as shown in the picture below. You can find my tutorial for making the Square in a Square quilt block at: https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-square-in-a-square-block

Corner Units:

Step 3:

Using the Light/White 3" squares, the Medium 1/Blue Tonal 3" squares, and the Dark/Blue 3" squares, sew together 12 White/Blue Tonal Half Square Triangles and 4 White/Dark Blue Half Square Triangles. Sorry, but I forgot to take a picture of this step. You can find the tutorial for sewing Half Square Triangles (HST) at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-half-square-triangle-block

Step 4:

Lay out three of the White/Blue Tonal Half Square Triangles and one White/Dark Blue Half Square Triangle as shown in the picture below.

Step 5:

Now you can sew these HSTs together like a typical Four Patch block. First, sew the patches into two rows and press the seam allowances away from the white fabric as shown in the picture below.

Step 6:

Second, you sew the two rows together and press the seam allowances. I pressed the seam allowance using the tweak/twirl/furl method as you can see in the picture below. Repeat Steps 4 through 6 for a total of four Corner units.

Putting It All Together

Step 7:

Lay out the Center unit, the Square in a Square units, and the Corner units as shown in the picture below. From here on, the block goes together like a typical Nine Patch block.

Step 8:

Now you can sew the units together into three rows as shown in the picture below.

Step 9:

And press the seam allowances away from the Square in a Square units as shown below.

Step 10:

Sew the three rows together and you're done. Well, except for the pressing anyway.

Step 11:

Press the seam allowances toward the center of the block as shown in the picture below.

Layout Ideas:

Here's the basic 4 x 4 layout using colors similar to the tutorial.

And this is the same layout but with sashing and cornerstones added.

Here's an example with a large Hourglass block used as an alternating block. I like how the diamond shape echoes the brown diamond in the Diamond Star block.

This version uses a simple chain block as an alternating block.

This is an on-point example with plain setting triangles.

This is also an on-point layout. A simple two-color chain block is used as an alternating block and for the setting triangles.

Conclusion:

I don't know why I thought this block was going to be more difficult. The Diamond Star quilt block is relatively easy with just Half Square Triangles and Square in a Square units. Confident beginners should have no trouble with it. I'm pleased with how it turned out with the bold on-point square behind the star.

I hope you've enjoyed this Diamond Star quilt block!

Happy Quilting!

Elaine

P.S. 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.

P.P.S. To figure out how much fabric you need to make a quilt using this block (or any other block for that matter) see the tutorial https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-much-fabric-do-i-need