Easy Hidden Star Quilt Block Tutorial

By: Elaine Huff

The Hidden Star is quick and easy to sew together. Plus, this charming traditional design can be made with more than three colors to totally change the look! Let's get started!

hidden star quilt block

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

  • Light/Ivory: 2 - 5" squares, 1 - 4.5" square, and 8 - 2.5" squares
  • Medium/Tan: 8 - 2.5" squares
  • Dark/Purple: 2 - 5" squares, and 4 - 4.5" squares

hidden star fabric requirements

Sewing Directions:

Half Square Triangle Units:

Step 1:

Using the Light/Ivory 5" squares and Dark/Purple 5" squares, sew together four Half Square Triangle (HST) units as shown in the picture below. Trim/square up the units to 4.5" square. You can find the tutorial for making a basic Half Square Triangle block at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-half-square-triangle-block

hidden star 1

Square in a Square Units:

Step 2:

Piece together four Square in a Square units like the ones in the picture below using the four Dark/Purple 4.5" squares, the eight Light/Ivory 2.5" squares, and the eight Medium/Tan 2.5" squares.

You will find my tutorial for making a basic Square in a Square block at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-square-in-a-square-block

Be sure to put the Light/Ivory squares adjacent to each other (and the same for the Medium/Tan squares).

hidden star 2

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Putting It All Together:

Step 3:

Lay out the Half Square Triangle units, the Square in a Square units, and the Light/Ivory 4.5" square as shown in the picture below.

hidden star 3

Step 4:

From here the block goes together just like a Nine Patch block. First you sew the units in three rows.

hidden star 4

Step 5:

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

hidden star 5

Step 6:

All that's left is to sew the three rows together.

hidden star 6

Step 7:

And press the seam allowances toward the center of the block. You're done!

hidden star 7

Conclusion:

The Hidden Star block was really quick to sew together. With only HST and Square in a Square units and a square, it makes for a great block for beginners. You could play with different color combinations like switching the placement of light and dark fabrics, or substituting the light half of the HSTs with another (fourth) color fabric.

hope you've enjoyed this Hidden Star quilt block. 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