Need Help Squaring Up an Odd Sized Block
 

I am making a 5" Ohio Star block. I have made the hourglass blocks (quarter square triangles) with nicely matching center points. I am trying to square them up to 2 1/4". I am using a 2 1/2" Omnigrid square ruler. I have used blue tape to mark the 2 1/4" lines. I can't identify where to mark for the ruler to coincide with the center of the block. My attempts at squaring up the blocks have resulted in uneven "points" for my Ohio Star. Any help,advice, tips, tricks, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

You need a tool/ruler like the Tucker Trimmer or Tucker Trimmer II where the diagonal is also marked. Are you sure you have the right measurements? I come up that your finished block will be 5 1/4". You have 3 rows to make the block. Each row, left to right: first row - plain, Ohio star, plain. Second row- Ohio star, plain, Ohio star. 3rd row same as first row. If I am correct, When you sew the 3 sections of each row together, the unfinished row will = 5 3/4" width x 2 1/4" height. After you sew the 3 rows together, the unfinished block will measure 5 3/4" x 5 3/4" (5 1/4" x 5 1/4" finished).

I should ask if you have already cut all your plain squares? What size are they? If your pattern allows, Just cut the Ohio stars to the same size as the plain squares so you don't have to redo anything.

Would it help to draw the 2 1/4" square on paper, draw 2 diagonal lines and cut out the square. Put a pin through the centers of the paper then the hourglass block, line up the lines with the seams, and you should be able to trim them well enough to size.

I am curious as to what pattern would set the Ohio Star blocks which is based on sets of 3's in a 5 inch pattern. A 6, 9 or 12 inch block would have been a lot easier to make and square up.

The center is at 1 1/8" use the side of the ruler without the 1/2" and just go in 1 1/8" from both sides and that is your center. Cut the two sides, rotate and the line up and cut the other two sides.

Also make sure your diagonal seams line up at the corners, which are going to be 2 1/4" up each side. Sometimes it's better to have the center a hair off than the corners.

I prefer to use larger rulers when square blocks, and it was fun with the 365 block challenge as I had a wide variety of measures that needed to be square up, sometimes as small a 3/4" HST or 1" x 2" flying geese. I had a lot of weird sizes because they used 365 different blocks, and all had to fit into 3" or 6" finished. There were a lot of 4 base blocks in the mix.

Thanks for the response. My omnigrid ruler does have diagonal mark. I read some advice on another thread, and measured 1 1/8 inch from the middle. That worked!
I am a fairly new quilter, and my finished star did not come out exactly 5 1/2 inches, so I made it slightly larger so that I could square the finished ohio star.

Thanks! This was my fall back plan if measuring 1 1/8 inch from the center didn't work.

Thanks for the idea. This was my fall back plan if measuring 1 1/8" from the center didn't work.

As a newbie quilter, I find quilt ideas and just go for it. I am making an Ohio star, snail's trail quilt (planned on EQ) and I had already made all the snail's trail blocks when I started the Ohio stars. I didn't want to have to remake the snail's trail blocks, so had to make several mock up blocks to find the right sizes to cut the fabric for a 5" Ohio Star. Oh well, I guess that is how we all learn! I will now check on block sizes before starting the quilt! On the plus side, I learned how to increase/decrease a block, and got LOTS of practice making QST's! As well as finding the board as an excellent resource. I am half way done with the Ohio Star blocks, so making good progress.