How to Sew a Starshadow Traditional Quilt Block

Let's look at this cute star block called Starshadow. It is fairly easy to sew together - just lots of pieces! This block first appeared in the Quilter's Newsletter publication and is a lovely traditional block. Let's get sewing!

Fabric Requirements for a 12" Finished Starshadow Quilt Block:

• Light/Ivory: 2 - 5" squares
• Medium/Tan: 2 - 5" squares
• Light/Print: 4 - 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles
• Medium/Green: 4 - 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles
• Dark/Pink: 8 - 2.5" squares
• Dark/Brown: 1 - 4.5" square, and 8 - 2.5" squares

Sewing Directions:

Half Square Triangles:

Step 1:

Using the Light/Ivory 5" squares and Medium/Tan 5" squares, sew together four Half Square Triangle units as shown in the picture below. You can find my step-by-step method for making a Half Square Triangle block at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-half-square-triangle-block

Green Diagonal Stripe Units:

Step 2:

We'll basically be making a modified Flying Geese unit - the position of the squares is the only difference. Draw a diagonal line from corner to corner on the back of a Dark/Pink 2.5" square and a Dark/Brown 2.5" square. Match these up with a Medium/Green 2.5" x 4.5" rectangle as shown below.

Step 3:

• Sew the Dark/Brown square to the Medium/Green rectangle along the marked line (top left image). Be sure to have the same orientation as in the picture.
• Then do the same with the Dark/Pink square on the opposite corner of the Medium/Green rectangle (top right image).
• Match up the corners of the squares and press (bottom left image).
• Trim away the excess seam allowances (bottom right image).

Step 4:

Repeat Steps 2 and 3 for a total of four Green Diagonal Stripe units.

Light/Print Diagonal Stripe Units:

Step 5:

Using the remaining Dark/Pink 2.5" squares and Dark/Brown 2.5" squares, along with the Light/Print 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles, repeat Steps 2 through 4 to make four Light/Print Diagonal Stripe units. However, the orientation of the diagonal stripe is going in the opposite direction. Use the picture below for a reference.

Chevron Units:

Step 6:

Match up one Step 4 and one Step 5 unit as shown in the picture below.

Step 7:

• Sew the two units together (top image).
• And press the seam allowance. You can either press to one side (bottom left image) or press open (bottom right image).

Step 8:

Repeat Step 7 for a total of four Chevron units.

Putting It All Together:

Step 9:

Now you can lay out the Half Square Triangle units, the Chevron units, and the Dark/Brown 4.5" square as shown in the picture below. From here the block goes together like a typical Nine Patch block.

Step 10:

First, sew the units into three rows as shown below.

Step 11:

Press the seam allowances away from the Chevron units.

Step 12:

Sew the three rows together, and...

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

Layout Options:

Here's the basic 4 x 4 layout. Notice the secondary designs that appear!

And here it is with sashing and cornerstones:

Here's an on-point layout with every other block being the Light/Ivory color:

And here's another on-point layout with sashing and cornerstones:

Now let's look at some alternating block options.

Here's one with an alternating large Hourglass block.

And here's one with a custom alternating block:

Conclusion:

This Starshadow block was fun to put together. It takes six different colors so you could get a bunch of different looks by changing out the lights and darks. I bet it would look great using different values of one color too - like six different blues.

I hope you've enjoyed this Starshadow quilt block tutorial. 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.