String Star Tutorial

September is my month in the Stash Trad Bee & I have totally been struggling with what block to have my group members make for me.  I have finally decided to go with a scrappy String Star.  Now, I know that I have seen a tutorial for this block somewhere (I can find the 6 pointed string star–but, I really wanted the 8 pointed one) but I’ve looked high and low to no avail.  So, here’s a tutorial of my own–it includes templates which I think makes things pretty easy–the one I had originally spotted did not.  If anyone stumbles across the one I had originally seen–please let me know, I’d love to give credit!

*Thanks to Ellen the block I had originally seen has been tracked down.  Thanks so much Ellen!–You can see the block I originally saw here.

Let’s get started:

You will need:

  • a bunch of 1″ strings–for my block I am using a combo of Aqua, Coral, Yellow, Green & Grey/Taupe.
  • a bunch of 2″ strings in the same colors(you’ll use these at the very tips of each diamond)
  • a 1″ x WOF string from a solid of your choice (Kona Snow in my block)
  • (4) 4 3/8″ squares cut diagonally once from solid of your choice (Kona Snow in my block)
  • (4) 3 3/8″ squares cut diagonally once from solid of your choice (Kona Snow in my block)
  • 4 copies of The Templates (make sure to set your page scaling to “none” when printing these out)

Begin by placing one of the solid strings aligned so the top edge runs thru the points on the right and left–you can see the placement in the picture above.  Use a little bit of temp. fabric spray adhesive to hold it into place & work from the non printed side.

After placing the solid string properly work the strings just as you would with any other string block until the diamond shape is covered with strings.  Make sure to shorten up your stitch length  You’ll notice that I used all 1″ strings for my block–in hindsight, I should have used (1) 2″ string at the points on each end.

Flip the block over and trim on the 1/4″ seam allowance line(the lighter line around the edge).  Remove paper.

Continue to make a total of 8 diamonds.

You will probably want to lay out the block before sewing the triangles in place as the triangle orientation varies.  Sew a small triangle and a right triangle onto each diamond unit like so(4 units will be made with this orientation & 4 with the opposite orientation–you’ll make a total of 8 units).

Sew together the units made above into 4 quarter units(here you can see the two different orientations).

Sew the quarters together to complete the block.

And there ya go!  A fun, mostly mindless block. =)

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72 Responses

  1. This is great Corey! I have a plan for using it. Thank you.

  2. elsa says:

    oh, I love this block ~ it’s really beautiful!

  3. elsa says:

    Oh and thanks for the tutorial too!

  4. Britt-Inger says:

    it is a wonderful block, I love it. Thanks for the tutorial

  5. Wendy says:

    This is a beautiful block. What are the measurements when finished?

  6. Britt-Inger says:

    Hi I forgot to change my email address
    And it is a very wonderful block, that I must try to make

  7. Pamela says:

    Love this!!! It’s perfect… Thanks for the tutorial.

  8. Pamela says:

    I did find this one

    http://www.quiltersworld.com/newsletters.php?mode=issue&issue_id=489&department_id=44

    It looks a lot harder and is a little bit different.

  9. Angela says:

    oh pretty! I was wondering what you would pick. Now I get to use some of those skinny strip scraps I have. 😉

  10. Jeanne Marie Wallace says:

    oh yes I too now know what to do with all my left over stings and wht nots,,
    Thank you,,Jeanne

  11. Susan says:

    Thanks for the great tutorial.
    Gwen Marston has a pattern for a string star in her Liberated String Quilts book. She used a black string in the center of the diamonds. It’s amazing how fabric choices can make the same quilt block look completely different! That’s one of the things I love about quilting–every quilter can express herself in her own individual way.

    • Corey says:

      I totally had to track down a picture of her quilt!–It’s fabulous!–Thank you so much for sharing–that black strip is perfect–I hadn’t ever seen her block–but it’s totally what I was going for–minus the wonkyness.

  12. Oh I love this block! Thanks for the tut and template! 🙂

  13. Ailsa says:

    Beautiful!!!

    I’ll have to have a go at this – once I’ve collected some 1″ strings

  14. Liz M says:

    Thanks for a great tutorial – I know there was more to make from my box of 1″ strips than mini log cabins!

  15. traceyjay says:

    it’s so pretty!
    I’ve made this kind of 8 point star a few times, what a great idea to do the strips!

  16. Barb says:

    That block is just wonderful!!

  17. Anne Dearle says:

    Thank you for a wonderful tutorial. I am going to share it with my quilting group. Lovely bright fabric.

  18. Robbin says:

    Awsome, thanks so much! I can’t wait to try this myself.

  19. Diana F. says:

    This I found with a Google Search ” 8 POINT STAR BLOCK ” more pages if you choose IMAGE search

    http://sentimentalstitches.net/instructions/hand-piecing/sewing-y-seams-eight-point-star-quilt-block/

    • Corey says:

      What a wonderful resourse on inset seams!–it’s an excellent tutorial on a basic 8 point star–and the pressing instructions are great! The original tutorial that I saw had the strips for the star. Thanks so much for trying to find the tutorial!

  20. Anne says:

    That is an awesome block! I have had a block keeper for my stitching on the agenda for some time now – guess what the front cover is going to be?

  21. Lorraine says:

    Love this block !!
    Thanks for the tut & templates 🙂

  22. Anita says:

    Great tutorial, thanks for sharing!

  23. Karen H says:

    I’ve always loved the look of this block, but thought it would be too difficult to make. Thank you for the tutorial. I think I can actually handle it! 🙂

  24. Oooooh, I can’t wait to make this! How beautiful!

  25. Jan says:

    this is lovely – would make a great centre piece for a pillow top

  26. Ellen Ban says:

    Liesl Made posted a tutorial for this as part of her Mini Patchwork Sampler Quilt Series. Your star is beautiful! Can’t wait to try one of these with all my scraps.

  27. Gladys says:

    It’s so beautiful! I love it! Thank’s for sharing with us! A hug!

  28. Gertie Pye says:

    Fab tutorial – just hopped across from Lily’s Quilts where I saw her string star block which is as lovely as yours!

  29. Sandi says:

    This is adorable. I must make this. Thank you for taking the time to help your fellow quilters with a comprehensive tute. You are a doll.

  30. Mary Pat says:

    What a great block….looks easy enough to do. Great way to use up stash.

  31. Kirsten says:

    Love this string star – so pretty! Thank you so much for the tutorial Corey.

  32. Tiffany says:

    Hi! I was wondering if you could help – I made 4″ diamonds and want to make this block – just bigger. Do you know how I can figure out how big to make those triangles on each side? Thanks for any suggestions you can offer!

  33. Brooke says:

    For some reason the template won’t load on my computer – could you email it to me? Thanks!

  34. Susie says:

    Hi Corey,
    I fell in love with your scrappy string star!
    I just made my first one, and have a blog…. www. susiesSunroom.blogspot.com , and would love to post about what I made using this block.
    If you email me, I can send you pictures. Do I have your permission to link to your post on the string star , and show one picture of the block, in my blog?
    Thanks so much, I love all of your work!!
    Susie

  35. Grannymarty says:

    Found you on Pinterest. Love the scrappy block, I’m finding I’m more attracted to small piecing as time goes by! Will use and love this. Just not real original all on my own.

  36. Nina says:

    I would love to try this block. Thank you so much for the pattern!
    A great way to use treasured bits I can’t part with.

  37. I have a question about your string star quilt block. Are the strings all sewed together first so there are no raw edges showing? The block is lovely and I would like to try it for my granddaughter’s quilt. I just wanted to make sure how it is sewn. I understanding about sewing the strips with the paper attached and adding the triangles, but just wasn’t clear on the strips themselves.

    I look forward to hearing from you.
    Thank you.
    Margaret Hawley

  38. Connie Rodriguez says:

    Thanks for the pattern the block is amazing

  39. peggy says:

    My gosh, I don’t think I have ever seen a quilt block I loved so much! It is absolutely beautiful. This is the first time I have said I don’t think I can do this. Does this string method make it that easy that anyone should try it? I really have never been afraid of making anything but wow! Thanks for sharing, again what an inspiration you are!

  40. Glenis says:

    Being a fairly new quilter that’s not very confident yet I think I can do this. Love the effect. Thank you

  41. Kathleen says:

    Can you share with us your background rulers? Is it a table top?

  42. Mary says:

    I’m teaching my 8 1/2 yr old great nieces to quilt. The strips will be fun for them. Can’t wait to see their faces when they see what they can do with them. They are doing GREAT with squares.

  43. PeggySue says:

    Why is it called String … when there are no strings in the end result?

  44. betty says:

    I have to make a solid colored quilt out of plain T Shirts. Would this pattern work for a T Shirt quilt? My neighbor whose husband passed only liked solid colored plain T Shirts. I wanted to help her by making it but cant bring myself to since they are only plain shirts. This might save me! Its just sitting in the corner waiting…

  45. Sylvia S says:

    I just love this block! Thank you for sharing it; the simple to follow tutorial and the template.
    @Betty -You could probably use a stabilizer with the t-shirt material in order to make this block and then combine it with solid colored t-shirt blocks

  46. Marlene says:

    This is a lovely pattern , its on my “to do” list next

  47. carol cawley says:

    I think this would be fun to make in leftover ribbon.

  48. Patsy Becker says:

    What a beauty of a block and I am printing the directions of as I type. Thanks for sharing this with your readers.
    Pat

  49. Kaye says:

    i cannot wait to make one of these. I love it. and thank hyou soooooooo soooooo much…Kaye

  50. nita says:

    Hi…. can you please tell me the actual measurements of the template? Thank you.

  51. marcella says:

    oh i cannot wait to make this. i have a wonderful basket full of 1-2 inch strips from the past 6-8 yrs of sewing/quilting. not only have i been wanting to make a strip quilt but also a star like this 1. how delightful that i get to make both in 1 quilt. thank u sew much.

  52. martha says:

    Trying to print templates for Star String Quilt. I can find D and E but not A & B. What am I missing?

    • Corey says:

      There are no templates for A or B. You only need the diamond shaped template provided. The instructions include the cutting for the triangles.

      • Joan says:

        Same here I can’t find A or B templates. Can someone please help us with that. I would love to make this too

  53. Pernet says:

    Bonjour,
    Ce tuto est beautiful , i love it. Je vais essayer de le faire. Tank you for tuto from swizerland geneva. Kiss.

  54. Natalie L says:

    I just wanted to say thanks again for the fantastic tutorial! I found this on Pinterest and I just finished making this for my Alison Glass miniswap I’m doing. It’s always so generous of bloggers to offer free patterns like this. It’s actually my first paper pieced block and I’m moving onto your liberated wedding ring block next for the Cotton + Steel miniswap I’m in as well. These give EXCELLENT instructions and again, thanks for offering them!

  55. Margaret says:

    I have made string paper blocks before, but never tried it with a diamond template. I know I will enjoy trying this one. Thanks

    • Joyce says:

      I’v learned in the years past if you have thin enough paper you can sew most any kind of block even just sewing strings together at random and then cut out the pattern you want, circle, square diamond etc. I find if I use enough spray starch on the material and keep it pretty stiff it will stay together pretty well and be firm enough to keep what ever shape you cut. ..j

  56. rena torres says:

    ne apasina el pachtwordt y doy curso de èl

  57. Laurel says:

    Great tutorial!! I have a brand new template that will be perfect for cutting these diamonds! 🙂

  58. Leigh Ann R. says:

    Just came across this – I think via IG, but the templates at Buckaloo are no longer valid links – can you give me any measurements for the template? Or would any template work? So far I’ve only attempted block quilts – my last with was with a jellyroll, so I’m still a newbie and needing directions! 🙂 thanks

  59. Becky DuBose says:

    In your instructions you mentioned a template download? I was not able to find it and would love to use up my “strings” making this quilt block. I love it!

  1. April 19, 2013

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