2024 Block of the Week – Block 5

Time to move on to the 5th block in this sew along. I hope you are having fun and enjoying some of my tips and techniques! If you are just joining the fun, you can find the post for block 4 here. That post will lead you to links for blocks 1, 2 and 3 as well. The purpose of this sew along is to introduce you to blocks with traditional roots that you may not have thought of making. It’s always fun to learn a new block! So on we go…

Block of the Week

Here is Block 5:

This block is called Starshine and is a little more straight forward than last week’s. The piecing a bit simpler. For the pattern go here: 2024 BOW Block 5.

A little block history.  This is a traditional block that is built upon the base of a center star. We learned  that star pattern has many names like Evening Star, Ohio Star, Variable Star… etc. So this block starts with a star in the center and has borders added so the “shine” radiates out. That’s how it got the name Starshine.

Since I could not find a lot of history on this exact block, lets delve into why the star is a design used often in quilting. The star quilt block has roots in the Native American tribes. Native women often adapted star designs with the colors of their tribe to represent the morning star or a celestial guiding light. In the 1800s, to many women settlers, star blocks represented the star of Bethlehem and the stars that guided them westward to their new homes.

Tips of the Week

Stitch & Flip. We covered a form of this when making flying geese a few weeks ago, but the center of this star block has a motif that is created by accurately performing the stitch & flip method.

Stitch & flip usually entails placing a smaller square on a larger square or block, stitching a bias seam and then pressing it open. Below, I’ll show only doing one side, but you can do two diagonally opposite corners of a square at a time to make the piecing go quicker.

As shown in the photos above, after drawing the diagonal line on the smaller square it’s important to line up its edges with the edges of the larger square. The most important step, at least for me, it to pin to keep the squares from shifting out of alignment while stitching.

Stitch on the line you have drawn and then, instead of instantly cutting off the excess fabric in the seam allowance, first finger press open the smaller square and measure the unit. In this block, the larger square you start with measures 4 1/2 x 4 1/2″. When you measure after adding the smaller square, the unit needs to still measure 4 1/2 x 4 1/2″ and still be square.

My examples above are from a project where the larger square was 2 1/2″. But the concept is the same. And like I said, you can stitch a square to the lower left corner at the same time since those squares will not interfere with each other and make the center unit piecing for this block go quicker.

No-line Stitch & Flip. You can do stitch & flip without drawing a line on your squares. It’s a time saver if you prepare your sewing machine in advance. Here’s some steps on how to do that. Photos first:

First, place a tape measure (above left photo – I recommend a tape measure that is 1/2″ wide) under the needle and put the needle down at the “0” line. Place a piece of painter’s tape right at that point on your throat plate and sewing machine table aligned with the “0” on the tape.

Then (middle photo) move the tape measure around (still under the needle). If you are using a 1/2″ wide tape as recommended, the edge will be exactly aligned with the 1/4″ line on your throat plate and with the edge of your 1/4″ foot (last photo). Be sure it is exactly 1/4″ then draw a line on the painter’s tape. This acts to extend the 1/4″ mark from your throat plate. No more eyeballing a seam!

Now, here’s how it works in action.

The photo above shows the point of the smaller square lined up with the left edge of the painter’s tape. Keep that lined up as you stitch the seam. Then follow the same steps above for those units with the drawn line. This is the position you use when you are doing stitch & flip.

As an aside, the line you drew into the tape is the one you use when stitching squares for HSTs. If you line up the point of your matched squares for the HSTS with the drawn tape line, your stitch line will be a 1/4″ to the side of the point, which is where you want it to be. When you do that on each side, you can then cut apart the unit in the center and have two accurate HSTs.

Important final tip: Because these seams are bias seams, do not pull the unit through your machine as you are stitching. This is a good rule for any seam, but especially bias seams because the fabric can be stretched severely out of shape by doing this and then your unit will not measure correctly. And be extra careful if you have to “un-sew” a seam for the same reason. The fabric can stretch out of shape with too much pulling.

Make it Scrappy!

Notice how I added some black in some areas to make the star design “pop”?

Remember to comment or ask questions below to be entered into a drawing for the fat quarter pack below:

That’s it for this week! Until next week,

Happy Quilting!
Deanne