Is there good instructions for making a star block and not cutting off the points? The one I am making now , was using a 4" background block and putting a 2 " blue block in each corner, stitching through both sides of the center line, cut them in half diaginal and then putting another 2" blue block in the other corner and sew . I lost a lot of points in the seams.

Depends on the pattern you are looking for...

I used "thangles" when i did this quilt pattern called "milky way". i actually did 2 of them, one for a firemans raffle and one for Ronald McDonald house raffle.
it is Fat quarter friendly..

you can get them at a Quilt shop or on line at
http://www.thangles.com/

i know there are easier and better ways, but i really liked the way they turned out..i rarely do the same pattern twice, but i liked it to much.i just had too!

I find if I make mine a little larger and trim to size, I don't lose my points as much. If it says start with a square that is 3 7/8", I cut mine 4".

How about this one?

http://quiltville.com/maverickstars.shtml

Watterstide, where did you get that pattern. I like those .

I don't buy thangles and things like that because of the cost.

I really think the major thing is to keep a consistant 1/4" seam.

If you have a problem with losing your points, I was watching a Kaye Wood video. Her suggestion, (which to me would be kind of a pain) was to sew on the side where you can see your points and don't sew them off. The part which would take longer is that if there are points on both top and bottom she suggests you sew the tips on one side, turn it over and sew the seam again, so that you can watch the other points and not cut them off. It sounds like a lot of work, but if you are doing something you really want your points on you might want to take the extra time and do this. At least you would't be unsewing your points and doing them again.

If it has flying geese type sections, I will often make these hst and then sew them in two to make the flying geese.
I prefer this, but there are many ways to do them.

Good luck!
Something to think about.

You need to make sure you are using a SCANT 1/4" seam so that you are sewing just a fraction beyond your points. This allows for the space taken up by the fabric folding back from the sewn seam when you press it open.

I hope that doesn't sound too confusing.

Cost is a factor, even for me..but i had never done stars before, and i was not very confident in myself at the time!they are a couple years old.. lol


quilt pattern called "milky way"
i got it from thier website..
http://www.thangles.com/

I downloaded a cheap program that let's you print out half square triangles. You get a decent selection of sizes. Have a look--might be cheaper than thangles.

http://www.quiltpro.com/page/productMain

Great quilts!

My tips for making HST's and not losing the points

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-23252-1.htm

I don't know how to post a picture but I made a "star" quilt that was really called hexagon puzzle. It used triangles and was a 6 pointed star. I wish I could send you a picture.

I wasn't criticizing. I just have myself in a pickle now that I am widowed. I have to start watching every penny I spend with heating bills in the very near future.

I used the directions here http://quilting.about.com/od/blockof...star_quilt.htm when I made my first star block.

I love the easy method they describe for making half square triangles
http://quilting.about.com/od/quickpi...squaretria.htm

Hope these help. Good luck!

My favorite is using Eleanor Burns Flying Geese tool. I think it's around $7.95 at Joanne's so using a coupon makes it even cheaper. I have never lost a point since I started using it.

Your star quilt is beautiful I love the the red, white and blue one. :thumbup:

The other one is pretty too.

This is what I do to. I still lose the occasional point here and there but not so much of it that it is glaringly obvious and in the big scheme of things I really think I'm the only one that notices.

I've made lots of star blocks. Make sure you're sewing 1/4" seams. VERY important with stars. Measure your seam with a tape measure...

When you sew a star point onto a strip (or another star block)....look at the star block. Is your seam on the inside of where the seam lines are for the point? the seamline should cross right at the X of the point.

a lot of the time that I loose my points is when I have a wonky cut of fabric. cutting your fabric right is the most important part and I found that starching helps a ton also. I am working on a pattern that is called a seaside star. will post a pic of one of them in a moment. and there are tons of points. I am getting really good at them. watching your seems and lining everything up carefully and watching the x of the point is also important. I find that if i sew just at the top if the middle of the x it will lay right when there is a bit of bulk also.

Love the star quilts and blocks.

I'm no help as I lost some of the points in my block the other day and am too woozy to work on it and figure it out. :P

Love those blocks. Where does the pattern come from?

I am making these star blocks for a swap. Very easy to put together and no problem with the points. Not sure if this is what you had in mind as these are made with jelly rolls and fabric or as I did, cut my own 2 1/2 inch strips. Got this from a tutorial on Youtube from the Missouri Star Quilt Company.

beautiful blocks!
thanks for the tips on not loosing your points! i lost a couple points even using the thangles.
if anyone looks at my quilts that close..i will snatch it back! ROFL!

i got it from the jinney beyer website. she has tons of free patterns. this one is called seaside star. it is her take on the mariners compass. she also has a mariners compass like one that I am starting to cut out to tackle. can't wait. think i might need one more fabric to make this. hubby will be upset but oh well. hehe i used batik and think that they add a new depth to them. but that is just me.

Terri Atkinson's "Lucky Star" pattern is a good one that doesn't lose the points.

Conjuring up the concept of making a few squares (maybe 4 by 4 inch finished square ) of stars to serves as part of the bottom of a skirt for one of my dolls 4 kids with cancer. It would be something I could do just now and then. The skirt pattern is 48 inches in width, so 12 of them stitched side by side would work nicely and use up some smaller scraps. HUMMMMMMMMMMMM. I also think one could save money by using a computer program to make thangles at home, or just draw out your own, Adding one inch or making a 5 inch square into a thangle. Use that cheap tissue paper from the dollar store for a template if one wanted, but I think a thin cardboard would serve best as the original 5 inch square to make a 'thangle' from. Hope this isn't clear as mud. Maybe I 'll try that concept to make a different look for a couple dolls. Thanks for the idea, Purple Passion.

Vickey

I agree with bj above - on one of Alex Anderson's Simply quilts show, a viewer asked your question and the response was to skip the 7/8" bit and just make the square a full inch larger than needed. It adds the extra step of cutting it down to size but it's no fun to get to the step where you square up your half square triangle and find that it's too small...
Thangles work well. I also have Triangulations CD by Brenda Henning that lets you print out a foundation for whatever size you need but this adds the cost of the CD, paper and the most expensive printer ink.
It is important to sew with a precise scant 1/4" seam but if you have tried and
are still having trouble, then the cheapest solution is to cut 4" squares to get
3.5" HalfSquare triangles and not 3-7/8".
Console yourself that there would not be so many products out there if this were as easy as it seemed to be before you tried it.

The easiest way I have found to make those star points is to use the method of sewing two squares together on all sides with right sides together, 1/4 in. seam all around. Cut on diagonal to make 4 half square triangles (hst). then just turn those hst around a square of the same material and get all those points without cutting off anything. There is a stream on this site that give you the measurement for the squares in order to get the correct size hst. Missouri quilt also has a youtube demo to do the hst that way.

Me too. It's always better to cut down. I also sew a scant 1/4 inch and make sure the point intersection is outside the seam line. Your eye catches a cut off point much faster than a little bit of the background fabric showing through.

If you can find a paper pieced pattern for stars, that helps alot in maintaining your points! Google "paper pieced star patterns"

I like watterstrides.

This works beautifully! I love it.

OK, what's are "thangles"?

that method works really well. do you know how to determine the size of the UNFINISHED hst? what size square do you have to start with to get what size unfinished hst? i never know how to relate the methods to pattern instructions, so i end up using traditional methods. if the instructions say to use a 3-7/8 square, cut in half diagonally and sew two ......blah, blah.... what are they saying in terms of the method you describe?
what size squares would you start with to get the equivalent of 1/2 of the 3-7/8 square?