June Block – The Eight Pointed Star

Our June block is the eight pointed star (Figure 1).You can make it with either 2 or three fabrics.  

    Figure 1                 Figure 2                                                                 Figure 3                Figure 4

   Full Quilt         Detail 1         Detail 2

It’s another great block for novelty fabrics, but would look equally good with only two fabrics.

The finished block size is 12 ½”
Cut one piece of fabric 6 ½” square.  This will be the center block.
Cut four pieces of background fabric 3 ½” square.
Cut four pieces of background fabric 4” square
Cut four pieces of the star fabric 4” square.

Take 1 – 4” square of background fabric and 1 – 4” square of the star fabric and place them right sides together.  

Using the same technique we’ve used in other blocks, draw a line on the diagonal and sew ¼” on both sides of the line.  

Now repeat this with the other three 4” sets of blocks.  Next, cut on the diagonal line.  Press the square open. 

Now comes the most important task.  Square up the block to 3 ½” inch square.  

This is important to insure your points are good and to help you quilt lay flat (See Figure 2). 

I match up the diagonal line of my block with the diagonal line on my square to insure a perfect block.

Arrange your blocks to form the square (See Figure 3).  Make sure your points are in the correct arrangement.  

You will notice that the star fabric borders the center square and the background fabric only touches the center square at the points.

To sew this together, I sew the sets of the points of the square first, and then connect the rest of the square.  

Make sure you square the finished block to 12 ½”. (See Figure 5)

Remember to press as you go along.  I found that pressing the seams open works best with this pattern.