Thursday, January 8, 2009

TUTORIAL....Let's Make Some Stars.....

1. Choose fabrics....if you want to control your colors like I have here, you will need 8 squares for your background (b/w check) and 9 squares for your star (teal). I have been making stars out of 1 1/2" squares, but for practice or for those of you who have never made a star before I suggest cutting your squares 2 " to start out. This will make it easier for you to handle.
2. Take one of your background squares and one star square and place them right sides together. Your about to sew your star points. Position star square as the above 2nd step shows. Now this does not have to be EXACT, that is what is nice about these stars. Sew it down at an angle. I use a VERY scant 1/4" seam allowance.
3. After sewing down, flip your sewn star square over and just finger press for now.

4. Take another star square , right sides together...position and sew it down at an angle. Flip this square over as well. Finger press.
5. This is how your 3 pieces should look from the front.
6. Flip your 3 piece unit over....here is how the back looks. You are going to sew up 4 of these 3 piece units. You can click on photos for a closer look at my seam lines.


7. Now it's time to do some trimming. I suggest sewing all 4 units up before you trim. Trim your star squares following the outline of your background fabrics.


Trim...trim...trim.



Here is your how the back of your trimmed unit looks. Take a closer look at my seam lines. You can see they are not even and don't match up. That is ok.



8. With your unit still face down, trim off excess of your background fabric leaving a nice seam allowance. MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT CUT THROUGH BOTH FABRICS.


Ok...here you go. Here is your unit from the back........and here is your unit from the front.

Remember, you are to make 4 of these.

Take your left over star square and center it....add your other units and squares around your center as shown here. Now you are ready to sew them all together.


Here is an example of a tiny star I made using up some of my scraps and leftover crumbs. The center square is even 3 different fabric scraps sewn together. When sewing with scraps, just make sure your star point scrap is large enough for when you flip it over it covers the edge of your background square. These stars are so versatile. The sky is the limit in making these little stars. Make them larger, make them smaller. So, STOP...GO NOW......MAKE SOME!! Please email any questions you might have....these tutorials are not as easy as they look, but it's best if you just get some fabric and practice. Look above at my blog header to see some of mine.

NOTE: I don't EVER use steam from my iron when pressing these tiny stars...especially when using my scraps. Some fabrics tend to shrink or draw up more than others resulting in a warped or distorted star. GOOD LUCK!



37 comments:

  1. How neat!! Thanks for sharing.. I was totally surprised at how easy it is. All this time I thought you were cutting those tiny blocks first then sewing them together.
    I'd like to make some pot holders with the stars.. bet they would be real pretty.

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  2. I'm in trouble now....

    How can I incorporate these little gems into my alphabet sampler quilt?

    hmmm...

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  3. Thanks so much for sharing. I would have cut every piece and pieced it together. Thanks again.

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  4. great tutorial -- you did a wonderful job of breaking it down step by step... may have soemthing other than strings in my near future...

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  5. Wow! This is a fantastic tutorial! I had really admired your stars when you posted them, but wasn't about to attempt them myself. Now, I definitely will.
    Thank you,
    Dionne

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  6. I have been waiting for this! I saved all the little scraps from my cherry quilt for these. Yay!
    I will make some today! Awesome tutorial.

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  7. Great tutorial. Just love the shape of that star. Thanks for sharing.

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  8. It's me again......I stopped what I was currently working on to see if I could do this. How awesome!!! I did it!!! lol.......thanks again so much

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  9. What a fantastic tutorial. you make it look so easy. Thank you very much. I have made bigger ones but I think I am going to try your small ones, they look so great.

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  10. Great tutorial. Thank you for the tip at the end too.

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  11. What clear tutorial! I make cute churn dash-patch in the same free way and I have always a lot of fun. Thanks.

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  12. Thanks for that very clear tutorial, Belinda. Those star blocks are just adorable, and I definitely see some in my future!

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  13. Wonderful tutorial. I love how you don't have to have the edges of the stars all match.

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  14. What a great tutorial. you make it look so easy.
    Thank you..Julia ♥

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  15. Oh thank you, I think I will need to make some of these for my Christmas Cottage Quilt!!!

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  16. My first visit to your blog and I sure enjoyed looking over your recent posts. I would love to see a picture of that quilt you are handquilting to see how that circular pattern came out.

    Thanks for visiting my blog and come back and see me sometime.

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  17. What a great way to use all of the small scrap pieces in my basket!

    Thanks!

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  18. How clever - I really like that method. I am not that big a fan of piecing - but I am going to make some of these - not sure what I'll do with them - but I love them too much to not make any. Thanks for the good tutorial - and the sweet stars.

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  19. Yeah!! I've been wanting to learn how to make these fun stars!!

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  20. Thanks for sharing! Your stars are so adorable, now I can make my own :)

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  21. Love the tutorial, Belinda! Love your adorable star blocks!! Thanks for sharing!

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  22. Great tute Belinda, thanks for sharing with us! Can't wait to make some stars

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  23. I happened to make some stars last year - they look great in a sampler quilt. I don't have a photo right now... great tutorial!

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  24. Hia Belinda, thanks for the tip about the steam iron and for showing us how you made those bright jolly stars.

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  25. What a very unique way to make stars!!! Your tutorial is great...thanks! I will definitely make some of these. Oh by the way, my name is Belinda also and I live in central Illinois.

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  26. Excellent tutoral. I love your method and the sharp points the star makes. Great job! Take care.

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  27. Great tutorial, Belinda! You did a bang-up job! (I know they're not easy to write.) And good photos too!
    I love those stars...and your header is fabulous! I think I may have to make a star for my Color Book! I could get addicted to the stars.

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  28. Cute stars! I love them!!!

    Thanks for the tutorial. :)

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  29. Godo tutorial. Didn't think of using scissors instead of a cutter. Easier to handle when the pieces are so small. Thanks.

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  30. thanks!!! i've been wanting to try these.

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  31. I love your tutorial on stars, and will have to try it. By the way, you have been tagged!See it at my site.
    Micki

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  32. I love how simple these stars are going to be to make! They will be perfect for filling in empty spaces on quilts.

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  33. I had seen these stars somewhere before but forgot the details. Now I have made three stars and it is getting easier to place the tiny scraps the right way to make a straight edge.

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  34. I'm hillariously laughing! bright and wild colours indeed. BUT I LOVE THEM! You've inspired me to add another project to my ever growing list!!

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  35. Nice! I'm the "project improv." I might have to add that to my stretching exercises!
    -- Michele

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  36. Holy Kamoley...those are some cute, cute, cute stars!!!
    Thanks for the tutorial...
    Peggy in NJ

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  37. Love these! I just came upon them from a link from another site. What is their finished size I wonder? Guess i'll have to make some to find out!

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