I’m a sucker for a star quilt. Sawtooth Stars are one of my favorite blocks to make. You can make them large or small. The Sawtooth Star looks very traditional in a two-color version, or have fun and make it scrappy. For this tutorial, we’re making a 12 1/2″ unfinished block in two colors. Here’s what you’ll need:
Color Fabric:
Cut – (1) 9″ x 9″ square
Cut – (1) 6 1/2″ x 6 1/2″ square
Background Fabric:
Cut – (4) 3 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ squares
Cut – (1) 9″ x 9″ square
Step-by-Step Instructions:
1. Take the 9″ x 9″ background square. On the wrong side, draw two diagonal lines from corner to corner — forming an X.
Pair the 9″ x 9″ background square and the 9″ x 9″ color square, right sides together. Make sure all edges are even.
Before you start sewing – add a couple pins to hold your layers in place. Might be a little hard to see on my fabric, but trust me, they’re there.
Stitch 1/4″ from the drawn lines on both sides.
Here is a close up so you can see the stitching.
Using a rotary cutter and ruler, let’s start cutting our half square triangles. First, I like to cut on the diagonal drawn lines. Take care not to move the pieces apart.
Next, cut vertically and horizontally through the center of the block.
You now have 8 half square triangles.
Trim your half square triangles to 3 1/2″ x 3 1/2″. My favorite tool for trimming is the Clearly Slotted Trimmer. All you need to do is find your desired measurement on the ruler, and place the dash line on the stitching line. Then trim both sides.
Open and press all of your half square triangles toward the color fabric.
Now for the fun part — assembling our block. Pair together 2 HSTs so that the points meet in the middle as shown.
Place right sides together.
Stitch 1/4″ along the right edge. For this part, I chain piece mine together.
Open and press your pieces to one side. If you prefer to press open, you can do that too. Now you have a flying geese unit.
Next, take 2 flying geese units and sew (1) 3 1/2″ background square to each side. Press toward background.
Sew the remaining 2 flying geese units to the left and right side of the 6 1/2″ x 6 1/2″ square. Press seams toward square.
Here’s a photo of the back of this unit – showing seams pressed toward the square.
Place one flying geese units with the background squares onto the bottom of middle unit. Nest your seams and pin in place before stitching. Sew 1/4″ and press seam toward flying geese unit. Sew remaining flying geese unit to top of the middle unit. Press.
Your Sawtooth Star is done. 12 1/2″ unfinished.
Make a bunch of sawtooth stars and connect them together with some sashing (or not) to make a whole quilt.
