Life has been crazy here! I have had the Bold and Scrappy Star Quilt on my list of things to do for months. I must reassure you, although my blog has been dark and I haven’t posted anything lately, I have been working on many different quilts, challenges, and special projects. Oh, how I wish there were more hours in the day.
The Bold and Scrappy Star Quilt
After I finished my Moda Love Quilt, I cut all my leftover fabrics into 3.25″ strips. I had other projects on my cutting table so I put the scraps into a plastic project bin hoping to add more strips to the bin as other projects progressed. And that’s just what I did. When I was ready to start this quilt, I had to decide what colors I wanted to use in each block and where they would be placed. I decided on two different blocks. I have put together a tutorial on the main part of this quilt top and you can decide if you want to make it larger with borders. It will be perfect for all your 3.25″ scraps.
What you will need:
12.5″ triangle ruler
13″ x 3.25″ scrap of fabric – 12
10″ x 3.25″ scrap of fabric – 12
4″ x 3.25″ scrap of fabric – 12
7″ x 3.25″ scrap of fabric – 12
12″ scrappy triangle blocks of a contrasting color – 20
21″ of a contrasting color for top and bottom white border
Making the Scrappy Triangle
First you need to make sure that each strip will cover the area you intend to use it for. Center and pin the top two strips together. Sew and press open. Center and pin the bottom two strips together. Sew and press open. Center and pin the top half and the bottom half of the block together. Sew and press flat.
Lay your 12.5″ triangle ruler on top of the strip set. Center it using seam lines as your guides. This will help you keep your block straight.
Trim your scrappy triangle block to 12″ in height. Repeat this process 11 times for a total of 12 triangle blocks.
Sewing the triangles into rows
Locate your pieced blocks and your contrasting fabric blocks. To get a feel for how my quilt is going to look, I always lay the blocks out. I take a picture of the layout at this point because it allows you to squint (foresee how it will turn out), which makes it easier to spot mistakes. And sometimes if I am unsure about colors, it puts an end to my second guessing. I like to refer back to the picture as I continue making the quilt top to check placement of blocks. For me, it is a big time saver.
Now you need to sew your blocks into rows. I like to work on three triangles at a time. Line up your triangle points to form “dog ears” like the following image.
After you have the four rows together, pin and sew your rows together. Then iron your seam flat. Work one by one until you have sewn your main quilt top together.
Final touches to the quilt top
Trim off the edges of the triangles to form a square. Out of your 21” (of the contrasting color), cut three strips 7” in height. Trim off the extra fabric. Pin and sew the strips together connecting the 7” sides. Iron your seam flat. Pin the long strip to the top of the star block. Trim off the extra fabric. Sew and then iron your seams flat. Repeat this step at the bottom of the block. This will allow your star to float evenly within the square. It will look like this.
To make your quilt top unique, finish the quilt top as you would like. I had a rug in mind as I added borders to only the top and bottom. I hope you enjoy making this quilt top as much as I did. To see the completed quilt click here.
