When I first started quilting I took a class held at a quilt shop. We used a star pattern that was written to have 1/2" of fabric from each point. Our goal was to have 1/2" from each star point but was fine to square the blocks and still have the points. I can't remember the name of that pattern but do remember how nice it was to not have a lost point when squaring the blocks. I wish all patterns were written like that one.