Hi friends!
How are you doing with your Jingle Bell Pines blocks??
Block 3 Winter Star
Block 3 Winter Star is one of a few different star blocks in the quilt and it has a few different units so we have a lot to cover in the tips!!! But don’t worry- you only have to make 1!
Where to start??
At the beginning I guess!
Square in a Square – a tip for cutting on the diagonal!
The center of the block is a square in a square in a square! And to make the block, you need to cut a square in half on the diagonal one and another square half on the diagonal twice.
That sounds simple enough but it is pretty easy to mess up. One way to make it work is to use the 45 degree line on your ruler.
Have you done this and still missed the corner?
Look at your rotary cutter and how it lines up with the ruler. Are you holding it straight or angled? Do you need your ruler just a couple of threads away from the corner so you cut right on the diagonal. Play around and see what works best for you.
When cutting twice, instead of moving the pieces after you make your first cut, can you rotate your cutting mat? every time we move the pieces, we are more likely to be off center! Also, I have another blog post on cutting along the diagonal using a slightly different trick- click here for more information!
Center Unit
To make the center unit, you will sew these quarter square triangles to the sides of a square.
The tip for these units is to be sure to find the center of the long edge of the triangle and the center of the side of the square and line those centers together, otherwise the block won’t be the right size! Then you will add the half square triangles the same way.
Wondering why the first round is quarter square triangles and the second round is half square triangles? It’s all about keeping the straight of grain on the outside edges of the block.
Quarter Square Triangle Units – with 3 fabrics!
The other unit we need to make for this block are quarter square triangle units from 3 fabrics. To start, we need to make HST units.
I already have posts with lots of tips on HST units so rather than repeat that information, you can click here.
But we don’t trim these HST units! Instead we layer the right sides together, draw more diagonal lines and sew again! then you trim to size.
The real tip here is to be sure you have pressed and layered them correctly.
Block
Putting the block together isn’t tough and if you have been careful with your 1/4″ seams, everything should line up!
Here’s the block with a khaki background!
And with a navy background!
Be sure to check out Kris’ posts – I think she has a lot of helpful images for you. Keep going and next week we will work on Block 4!
happy quilting,
Kate
Please note: we are not sharing any cutting information or sizes; you must have the pattern to make the block.
Interested in purchasing the pattern? Click here to go to Kris’ website!