Free Pattern – Union Star Quilt Block

Let’s sew together a 12″ Union Star Quilt Block today! This one looks a lot harder than it really is so let’s get started!

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

• Light/White: 24 – 2.5″ squares, 2 – 3″ squares, and 1 – 4.5″ square
• Medium/Purple: 8 – 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangles, and 2 – 3″ squares
• Dark/Green: 4 – 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangles, and 4 – 2.5″ squares

Sewing Directions:

Flying Geese Units:

Step 1:

First you need to make four Flying Geese units using the 4 Dark/Green 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangles and 8 of the Light/White 2.5" squares. You can find my no-trim method for perfect Flying Geese at https://fabric-406.myshopify.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-flying-geese-block

Diagonal Stripe Unit:

Step 2:

Make 8 of these Diagonal Stripe units using 8 Medium/Purple 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangles and 16 Light/White 2.5″ squares. Make sure that four have the stripe going one way and four have the stripe going the other way! This is basically half of a Snowball block and you can find my tutorial for that block here: https://fabric-406.myshopify.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-snowball-block

Half-Square Triangle Unit:

Step 3:

Now you need to sew 4 Half-Square Triangle (HST) units using the 4 Light/White 3″ squares and the 4 Medium/Purple 3″ squares. Trim/square up the units to 2.5" square. You can find my tutorial for HSTs here: https://fabric-406.myshopify.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-half-square-triangle-block

Sewing the Center Unit:

Step 4:

Lay out the 4 Half-Square Triangle units, the 4 Flying Geese units, and the 4.5″ White/Light square (center square) as shown below.

Step 5:

Sew the units into three rows and …

Step 6:

Press the seam allowances away from the Flying Geese units as shown in the picture below.

Step 7:

Sew the three rows together and …

Step 8:

You guessed it – press the seam allowances toward the center of the block.

Sewing the Outside Borders:

Step 9:

Match up two mirrored Diagonal Stripe units and sew together as shown in the picture below. 

Press the seam allowance open as shown in the picture below. Repeat to make a total of four units.

Step 10:

Sew two of these units to opposite sides of the center unit.

Step 11:

And press the seam allowances toward the center of the block.

Step 12:

Sew two Dark/Green 2.5″ squares to each end of one of the remaining joined Diagonal Stripe units as shown in the picture below. 

Press the seam allowances toward the Dark/Green 2.5″ squares as shown in the picture below. Repeat to make a total of two units.

Step 13:

Lay out the above units as shown in the picture below.

Step 14:

Sew the units together – almost done!

Step 15:

Press seam allowances toward the outside of the block as shown below. Trim/square up the block to 12.5″ if necessary. You are done!

In Conclusion:

This pretty Union Star quilt block is simply made up of easy to sew units so it looks much harder than it really is. I hope you’ve enjoyed this block.

If you like this tutorial and want to see more, just click HERE to sign up for my newsletter and receive a free PDF quilt pattern called "Chained Weathervane".

Happy Quilting!

Elaine