What is a block of the month without a sawtooth star block?!
We’re celebrating the halfway point of the Learning Curves BOM with a block with no curves! I designed this quilt block to work like a puzzle piece so that if you love making it, you can tesselate several blocks to create some colorful sawtooth stars!
The fabrics I’m using are Bee Cross Stitch, designed by Lori Holt for Riley Blake Designs.
Denim
Cottage
Soldier
Fabrics were provided by Riley Blake Designs.
I’m not one to settle for making a sawtooth star with a few simple HST blocks. And while I love a good stitch and flip block, sometimes that feels a little wasteful. So to make these blocks, we’re playing with some creative patchwork to make 8-at-a-time HSTs! You can use large scraps as detailed in the cutting table, or you can use yardage to make multiple blocks, as outlined in this month’s bonus sheet.
I think the trickiest part of the block pattern is trimming the unit from part 1 to 6" square. It’s not a very common ruler size, and using a 6½" x 6½" wasn’t immediately intuitive to me. In this image, you can see how I’ve aligned both 3" lines with the lines marked in part 1 step 6. From here, I trimmed from the right and top sides of the block before spinning it around, realigning the ruler and trimming the remaining two sides.
Once the block is trimmed, all that we have to do is follow the normal steps to make 8-at-a-time HSTs!
You’ll notice that some of the HSTs have a bit of patchwork in the corners. These don’t interfere with the assembly, but can add some bulk to the seams. There is a bit of trimming room in the HSTs, but we can’t trim the bulky corner out completely. Just make sure you press everything thoroughly to counter the bulk.
I did trim off the tiniest piece of patchwork at these seams; you can just barely tell that I’m snipping the threads of the seam that is fully within the seam allowance. Honestly, I don’t know that it made a huge difference.
The rest of the block is a pretty straightforward effort. Just pay attention to the orientation of the HST 1 and 2 units. As you start assembling the quarter star units, you can just start to see the sawtooth star taking shape!
I have to give Tara of @thewindycityquilter and owner of @fullmoonfabricco another shoutout! I love how her full quilt top came out! I’ve included lots of different ideas on how to build out a quilt top in this month’s bonus sheet, so don’t forget to take a peek at that.
I can’t believe we’re halfway through the BOM! I’ve loved seeing everyone’s progress and watching skills grow. I can’t wait to see what you make this month! If you’re on Instagram, share your pictures using #learningcurvesbom and #starzzlequiltblock.
Happy quilting!