Monday, January 30, 2012

Star Crossed Block Tutorial

I was super excited to get a package in the mail last week from Betz White, a fellow former Betsy.  Last fall, she introduced her new fabric line, Stitch, for Robert Kaufman, and she sent some along to me to play around with.  I had a lot of fun finding the block I wanted to use, and I'm really happy to share this tutorial with you.  This block has been called many things over the years, dating as far back as 1907, from a Friendship block to a Hearth and Home block, but I think Star Crossed might be a better name for it, so that's what I'm calling it.


For a 10 1/2" block, you'll need:
2 contrasting printed fabrics
1 background fabric

Cutting Instructions
focus fabric:
two 2 1/2" squares
one 2 1/2" x 6 1/2" rectangle

contrast print:
eight 2 1/2" squares
two 4 1/4" squares

background:
four 2 1/2" squares
two 4 1/4" squares

note: all seams are a scant 1/4" unless otherwise noted

Block Assembly
1. First, let's make some HSTs.  Pair up one background 4 1/4" square with a contrast print square, and sew all the way around.  Bring your newly sewn pair of squares over to your cutting mat and make two diagonal cuts as shown below, cutting from corner to corner.


2. Press seams open for your new HSTs and bring them back to the cutting mat.  Using a ruler with a 45 degree angle marking, line up your HST along the center seam and trim to 2 1/2".


3. Lay out your HSTs along with the various 2 1/2" squares as shown below.


4. Sewing in pairs, stitch the squares of each row together, then sew each row together to finish the block.  Press seams open and voila, a finished block!

Star Crossed quilt block tutorial - new on the blog today Star Crossed block #2  

If you make one of these blocks, I sure would love to see it!  You can add it to my Flickr group, Stitching with Don't Call Me Betsy!

You can find Betz's awesome Stitch line at Fat Quarter Shop, Sew Mama Sew, as well as Fabric.com, and you'll be seeing more of it as I work on this quilt!  Thank you, Betz, I've really enjoyed playing with your fabric so far!


27 comments:

  1. Another great tutorial, Elizabeth! Those fabrics are cute, too!

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  2. The orange in the second block looks so animated! Love this tutorial!

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  3. Great tutorial! Love that block :)

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  4. Wow, I really love this block! Great fabric too. I hadn't seen that before.

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  5. Awesome block! It is fun to see a new fabric in play. :)

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  6. i really, really love this block! i'm trying to follow along with both faith's solstics stars and jeni's HST BOM to put in the same quilt, but that's only 17 blocks - i need one more to make a nice 18. now if i can just make my non-mathematical brain try to figure out how to make this block 12.5". :)

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  7. Really beautiful! Lovely star block and wonderful fabrics!

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  8. very nice. I guess with a bit of waste, a person could use a jelly roll?

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  9. that is a fabulous block. You did a great job using the new fabrics to show it off.

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  10. Very pretty! I especially like it monochromatic. Any guidance on making it 12.5"?? I want to use it in my Solstice Stars top. Thanks! :)

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  11. Looks like a great line of fabrics. Great job with the blocks, Elizabeth!

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  12. Ooh, pretty! That orange one almost looks like it has flames coming out from behind the +

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  13. Ok, I'm going to ask a stupid question. When you are sewing your 1/4" seam around the pair of 4 1/4" squares how do you stop exactly 1/4" from the corner before you turn? Do you have markings on your machine that show you were 1/4" is? Don't tell me you just eyeball it! ha!

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  14. Ooooh! I like this block, and these fabrics are so much fun! Thanks for the tutorial. I'll have to give this one a try :-)

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  15. It's almost a bit of an obstacle illusion! I really like it.

    I think the name 'star crossed' is perfect.

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  16. Fantastic block, adding to my list...thanks for the tute!

    Digging the oranges and greens in the fabric line!!!!

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  17. I really like this block. And the fabric is very fun and fresh.

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  18. I have never quilted...yet. But how much fabric of each color would it take for a quilt like this?

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  19. Love this block...I am sharing your post on Freebies for Crafters....I hope that okay with you...thanks for sharing your tutorial...hugs Khris

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Thank you for leaving a comment for me! I appreciate each and every one of them and try to respond when time allows. Your comments totally brighten my day :)


Welcome! I'm Elizabeth, mom to a mood teen boy and a chatty six-year-old girl and I sew for my sanity. Let's get to quilting, shall we?
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