Stars in a Star Quilt Block Tutorial: Three Stunning Stars in One 16" Block

By: Elaine Huff

The Stars in a Star quilt block is a classic showstopper, packing three sparkling stars into one generous 16" block. Built with straightforward flying geese units and simple squares, this design looks intricate while staying completely approachable to sew. In this tutorial, I’ll walk you step by step through constructing the block so you can enjoy the layered, old-fashioned star effect without any fuss—perfect for adding bold movement and timeless charm to your quilt.

Fabric Requirements for a 16" Finished Stars in a Star Quilt Block:

Light/White: 4 - 4.5" x 8.5" rectangles, 4 - 4.5" squares, 4 - 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles, 4 - 2.5" squares, 4 - 1.5" x 2.5" rectangles, and 4 - 1.5" squares
Outer Star/Dark Purple: 8 - 4.5" squares
Middle Star/Green: 8 - 2.5" squares
Center Star/Purple: 1 - 2.5" square, and 8 - 1.5" squares

Sewing Directions:

Flying Geese Units:

Step 1:

Using 8 Outer Star/Dark Purple 4.5" squares and four Light/White 4.5" x 8.5" rectangles, sew together four large 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. The picture below shows the first four steps.

Mark a diagonal line from corner to corner on the back of the Dark Purple 2.5" squares.
Sew a Dark Purple 2.5" square to an Light/White rectangle along the marked line (top image). Note the orientation of the marked line.
Match the corners of the Dark Purple square and press (second image).
Open the square up and trim the seam allowance (third image). Because this is a larger size unit, I also sewed another seam about 1/2" away from the marked line so I can get a bonus half square triangle (HST) to use in another project!
Refold (bottom image).

Step 2:

Repeat Step 1 on an adjacent corner. You can see my bonus 3.5" HST in the picture below.

Step 3:

Repeat Steps 1 and 2 for a total of four large Flying Geese units.

Step 4:

Repeat Steps 1 through 3 only using the Light/White 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles and the Middle Star/Green 2.5" squares like the ones shown below.

Step 5:

Repeat Steps 1 through 3 only using the Light/White 1.5" x 2.5" rectangles and the Center Star/Purple 1.5" squares like the ones shown in the picture below.

Putting It All Together:

Step 6:

Lay out the Step 5 Flying Geese units, the Center Star/Purple 2.5" square, and the four Light/White 1.5" squares as shown below. All by itself, this unit is an Ohio Star/Sawtooth Star/Lone Star block.

Step 7:

Sew the units into three rows as shown below. This is a small unit so just take your time and it will turn out great.

Step 8:

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

Step 9:

Sew the three rows together.

Step 10:

Press the seam allowances. I've pressed toward the center of the unit but you can press whichever direction you prefer.

Step 11:

Lay out the Step 10 Center Star unit, the four Step 4 Flying Geese units, and the four Light/White 2.5" squares as shown below.

Step 12:

Repeat Steps 7 through 10 to form the Middle Star unit.

Step 13:

Lay out the Step 12 Middle Star unit, the four Step 3 Flying Geese units, and the four Light/White 4.5" squares as shown in the picture below.

Step 14:

Repeat Steps 7 through 10 to complete the block.

Step 15:

Here's a picture showing the back of the block. I decided to press the seam allowances in this round in the opposite ways that I directed in the Center Star unit directions. It pressed a little easier this way but you can press however you wish.

Layout Ideas:

This is a basic 4 x 4 layout using colors similar to the tutorial. It gives the illusion of an alternating layout!

This is the same layout as above but with narrow (1") sashing and cornerstones added.

Here is a layout that alternates the Stars in a Star block with a plain background block. This leaves lots of room for some fancy quilting and really emphasizes the main block.

For this example I changed up the coloring of the Stars in a Star block and used an Alabama variation block for an alternating block.

This is another example of an alternating layout with an applique block for the alternating block. I also added 2" sashing and cornerstones to give some separation between the blocks.

This is an on-point alternating layout where a simple chain block is used for the alternate block and in the setting triangles.

Also another on-point alternating layout using a large Hourglass block for the alternate block.

Conclusion:

I enjoyed sewing the Stars in a Star block. That center unit was a bit small (my arthritic hands don't like working with small pieces) but it turned out nice. With only Flying Geese units and squares, it was pretty straight forward to sew together. I do love the star-in-a-star-in-a-star design!

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. Looking for more star blocks? Take a look at these tutorials: https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/tagged/eight-pointed-star-blocks

P.P.S. Check out my Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/fabric406