Dreaming of Stars Blog Tour

 

 

Welcome to the Dreaming of Stars Blog Tour hosted by Timeless Treasures Fabrics!  Dream Basics is a new line of gorgeous dotty "basics" fabric in 30 colors.  Each day this week, a different designer will share a tutorial for a star block using new Dream Basic fabrics, and give away half-yard cuts of the fabrics used for the tutorial.  Wrapping it up on Friday, Timeless Treasures Fabrics will give away a 30-piece fat quarter bundle of the entire collection! 

My star block doesn't have a name yet, so if you'd like to win a bundle of the fabrics I used for my block, just leave a comment here with your suggestion.  If you're a "no-reply" visitor, make sure I have a way to get in touch with you.  I'll select a winner using a random number generator and announce the winner on Tuesday, January 21.

Here's the schedule for the tour:

MONDAY, JANUARY 13 - Jessica Alexandrakis - Life Under Quilts    
TUESDAY, JANUARY 14  Kim Brackett - Magnolia Bay Quilts  (You're here!)
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15  Nicole Daksiewicz - Modern Handcraft
THURSDAY, JANUARY 16  John Kubiniec - Big Rig Quilting     
FRIDAY, JANUARY 17  Kimberly Einmo

Here is my (nameless) 12" finished block.

And here are the Dream Basics fabrics I used to make it. 

Cutting:

From each of the Turquoise, Lime, Pink, and Citrus fabrics,
     cut a 1 1/2"-inch strip across the width of the fabric. 
From the Stone fabric, cut two strips, 2 1/2" by the width of the fabric.  Cross-cut into:
    4 rectangles, 2 1/2" x 4 1/2"
    12 squares, 2 1/2" x 2 1/2"
From the Sun fabric, cut one strip, 2 1/2" x the width of the fabric.  Cross-cut into:
    4 squares, 2 1/2" x 2 1/2"

 (There will be extra fabric left from the Stone and Sun strips.  You can use it to make extra blocks.)

Block Assembly:

1.  With right sides together, sew the long edge of the Turquoise and Lime strips together, then sew the long edge of the Pink and Citrus strips together.  Press the seam allowances in either direction.

2.  From each of the Turquoise/Lime and Pink/Citrus strip sets, cut:
          2 rectangles, 2 1/2" x 6 1/2"
          2 rectangles, 2 1/2" x 4 1/2"
          (If you cut very carefully, you should have enough rectangles for two blocks.)

3.  Arrange the rectangles as shown in the photo below.  This step will help you keep the colors in the right place so that your star appears to be woven. 

4.  Sew together a Sun 2 1/2" square to a Stone 2 1/2" square.  Press the seam allowances toward the Stone fabric.  Make 4 for each block.

 

 

5.  Sew a Stone 2 1/2" x 4 1/2" rectangle to each of the units from Step 4.  Press the seam allowances toward the rectangle.  Make 4 corner units for each block.

 

 

6.  Arrange the corner units and rectangles as shown below.  Again, this step will help you keep everything in the right place. 

 

 

7.  Sew the 4 1/2"-long strip set rectangles to the corner units.  (Look for the black arrows below that show the corner units sewn to the 4 1/2" rectangles.)  Press the seam allowances toward the strip set rectangles.

 

 

8.  Now sew the 6 1/2" rectangles to each of the units.

 

 

9.   On the wrong sides of the 8 remaining 2 1/2" squares, use a mechanical pencil and a ruler to draw a faint line diagonally from corner to corner. 

 

 



10.   With right sides together, sew two Stone 2 1/2" squares to the units, sewing on the drawn line.

 

 



11.  Fold the inside corners of the squares to the outer point, and press. 

12.  Fold back the top layer and trim away the excess fabric 1/4" from the seam line.  Ditto for the other side.   

 

 

13.  Press the folded triangles back into place and arrange the block units.

 

 

 

14.  Sew together the top two units and press the seam allowances toward the unit on the right.   Sew together the bottom two units and press the seam allowances toward the unit on the left. 

 



15.  Sew together the bottom and top halves.  Before pressing, I suggest "rotating" your seam allowances.  To do this, remove the stitching from the vertical seam above the horizontal seam you just made to sew the halves together.  Just two or three stitches -- see the circle in the photo below.    If necessary, turn it over and remove the stitches from the back, too. 

16.  Press the seam allowances in a counter-clockwise direction.  You should see a tiny four-patch like this one in the center of your block.  Doing this will allow you to rotate the block in any direction and still have tidy, nestling seam allowances. 

Even if you make identical blocks, you can rotate them so it appears that you have a different fabric placement in each block.  See?

And here's a digital version of what your quilt might look like. 

I hope you enjoy the tutorial.  Don't forget to visit the rest of the blogs, as well as Timeless Treasures' blog.  Have a good week!