How to Make the Mosaic #19 Star Quilt Block
Ready to add a stunning star to your quilting repertoire? The Mosaic #19 quilt block is a classic 12" star pattern originally published by the Ladies Art Company, and it's a fantastic project for quilters ready to level up from beginner basics or for more experienced makers.
With its striking geometric star design, Mosaic #19 offers endless color and fabric combination possibilities, making it perfect for bold modern palettes, or classic traditional looks. In this tutorial, we'll walk through cutting, piecing, and assembling this beautiful block step by step, so you can confidently add it to your own quilting collection.
Fabric Requirements for a 12" Finished Mosaic #19 Quilt Block:
- Light/White: 1 - 6.5" squares, 2 - 4" squares, and 8 - 3.5" squares
- Medium/Blue: 4 - 3.5" x 6.5" rectangles, and 2 - 4" squares
- Dark/Burgundy: 4 - 3.5" squares
Sewing Directions:
Half Square Triangle Units:
Step 1:
Using the two Light/White 4" squares and the two Medium/Blue 4" squares, make four Half Square Triangle (HST) units as shown in the picture below. You can find my tutorial for making HST units at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-half-square-triangle-block
Square in a Square Unit:
Step 2:
Using the Light/White 6.5" square and four Dark/Burgundy 3.5" squares, "snowball" the corners of the Light/White square to create a Square in a Square unit. You can find my detailed 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
Flying Geese Units:
Step 3:
Using eight Light/White 2.5" squares and four Medium/Blue 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles, sew together four Flying Geese units. For a detailed tutorial of my no-trim method for making perfect Flying Geese blocks check out https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-flying-geese-block.
Tip:
Because the Square in a Square and Flying Geese are larger size units, I also sewed another seam about 1/2" away from the marked line so I can get bonus half square triangles to use in another project! You can see detailed instructions for this tip in the Mosaic #2 tutorial.
Putting It All Together:
Step 4:
Lay out the Step 1 Half Square Triangle units, the Step 2 center unit, and the Step 3 Flying Geese units in an uneven Nine Patch configuration as shown in the picture below.
Step 5:
Sew the units into three rows as shown below.
Step 6:
Press the seam allowances toward the Flying Geese units as shown in the photo below.
Step 7:
Sew the three rows together.
Step 8:
Press the seam allowances away from the center of the block as shown below. You're done!
Layout Ideas:
This is the basic 4 x 4 layout using colors similar to the tutorial. While I like the diagonal feel to the quilt, I think the star gets lost in the design.
With the addition of 1.5" sashing and cornerstones, the star design pops out!
This is an alternating layout where every other block is a modified Mosaic #1 block. Another color (purple) was added to the block as well.
Here's another alternating layout that uses a simple Snowball block for the alternate block. I also changed the corner Half Square Triangles to another color. That Snowball block would be a great place for some fancy quilting, applique, or embroidery!
Here we have a monochromatic alternating on-point design using a modified Mosaic #2 for the alternate block. Additionally, the light background color is used for the setting triangles.
This on-point layout uses 1.5" sashing and cornerstones and the background color for the setting triangles.
Conclusion:
The Mosaic #19 quilt block was quick and easy to sew together. It also made for some lovely quilt layouts and lots of color options!
I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial. If you like it 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
P.S. Did you miss the previous Mosaic block tutorials? Check them out at https://fabric406.com/search?q=mosaic&options%5Bprefix%5D=last
P.P.S. Check out my Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/fabric406