- Background (muslin)
- Dark (indigo)
Block No. 110 · star
Star of Bethlehem Quilt Block
Part of: Star Quilt BlocksFlying Geese Quilt BlocksQuilt Blocks For BeginnersTwo Color Quilt Blocks
This Star of Bethlehem is a sawtooth star with a twist: the center is a background frame around a small dark square, so the star seems to hold a jewel. Every star point is a large flying-geese unit.
Version note: Quilter's Cache's straight-seam version. The reference frame is mitered, but it is all one fabric, so it is cut as plain strips. The famous Lone Star style Star of Bethlehem is pieced from diamonds and is a different block. Layout confidence: medium.
- Level
- Confident Beginner
- Grid
- 8 × 8
- Pieces
- 21
Chart
Cutting for a 12" block
8 × 8 grid. All cuts fall on 1/8" ruler marks. Unfinished block: 12 1/2".
| Fabric | Shape | Cut | Size | Then | Pieces used |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Background | Square | 4 | 3 1/2" square | Use as cut | 4 |
| Background | Rectangle | 2 | 2" × 6 1/2" | Use as cut | 2 |
| Background | Rectangle | 2 | 2" × 3 1/2" | Use as cut | 2 |
| Background | Quarter-square triangle | 1 | 7 1/4" square | Cut twice diagonally (4 triangles each) | 4 |
| Dark | Square | 1 | 3 1/2" square | Use as cut | 1 |
| Dark | Half-square triangle | 4 | 3 7/8" square | Cut once diagonally (2 triangles each) | 8 |
Method
Piecing steps
Step 1: Cut every patch listed in the cutting chart for your size. Plain areas are cut as the larger squares and rectangles shown; do not subdivide them. Columns count from the left and rows from the top, starting at 1, in grid cells.
Step 2: Make the flying geese: sew a sky triangle to each short side of a goose triangle (cut from the quarter-square parent), pressing toward the sky. Make 2 trimmed to 6 1/2" wide by 3 1/2" high, 2 trimmed to 3 1/2" wide by 6 1/2" high.
Step 3: Make four large flying geese with background goose triangles and dark sky triangles, trimmed to 6 1/2" by 3 1/2".
Step 4: Make the center: a dark square framed with background strips, cut as plain rectangles.
Step 5: Make section 1: sew the background square at column 1, row 1, the background goose at column 1, row 3, pointing right and the background square at column 1, row 7 in a column, top to bottom. Press and check it measures 3 1/2" wide by 12 1/2" high.
Step 6: Make section 2: sew the background rectangle at column 3, row 4, the dark square at column 4, row 4 and the background rectangle at column 6, row 4 side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 6 1/2" wide by 3 1/2" high.
Step 7: Make section 3: sew the background goose at column 3, row 1, pointing down, the background rectangle at column 3, row 3, section 2, the background rectangle at column 3, row 6 and the background goose at column 3, row 7, pointing up in a column, top to bottom. Press and check it measures 6 1/2" wide by 12 1/2" high.
Step 8: Make section 4: sew the background square at column 7, row 1, the background goose at column 7, row 3, pointing left and the background square at column 7, row 7 in a column, top to bottom. Press and check it measures 3 1/2" wide by 12 1/2" high.
Step 9: Complete the block: sew section 1, section 3 and section 4 side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 12 1/2" wide by 12 1/2" high.
Step 10: Press the finished block. Every join above runs edge to edge, with no set-in or Y-seams.