Here's a simply tutorial on how to make a 12.5" wonky star block for the Bushfire Quilt Project, which I blogged about in the previous post. (My apologies for the variations in the lighting of these photos, the clouds kept rolling in and out during this shoot.
UPDATED NOTE: I wrote this tutorial, in an attempt to make the process as straight forward and simple to follow as I possibly could. However, please know that if you use triangle shapes cut a bit larger, ( by an inch or two) you will have more leeway in how you position them and more possibilities in getting your star to be EXTRA wonky!
You will need to start with 13 squares of fabric each cut 4.5"
Out of these 13 squares you should have:
~ 8 white or cream, (these will be for the background)
~ 4 any color/pattern you choose, (these will be for the star points)
~ 1 any color/pattern you choose, (this will be the center of the star)
Stack the 4 star point squares and slice in half so you have 8 triangles...
Select 4 of the background squares and 4 of the star point triangles. Stitch one triangle to the right side of each background square. Changing the angle of the triangles will help create the wonky-ness of the star. (Make sure that when the triangle is flipped and ironed to the correct side, it extends past the edges of the background square.)
Cut the excess background fabric off...
Flip the star point triangle to the right side and press with a hot iron...
Sew the remaining 4 triangles to the left side of these 4 background blocks. You can overlap the triangles slightly at the bottom, or leave a space. Each variation just adds to the wonky-ness...
Again, cut off the excess fabric as shown...
and flip the star point triangle to the left side and press with a hot iron...
Cut off all excess fabric, making the squares 4.5" again...
Take your center square and using a scant, (just under) 1/4" seam allowance, stitch a completed star point square to both the left and right side as shown...
Take one of the remaining star point squares and again using a scant 1/4" seam allowance, sew a plain background square to both the left and right sides. Repeat with the 3 remaining squares...
Press and iron all 3 rows. (Because the background is light in color it's best to iron the seams towards the star points. Do this with the center row as well, thus helping to reduce bulk when all three rows are joined together)...
Line up the seams, pin and using a scant 1/4" seam allowance, stitch the top row to the middle row. Repeat with the bottom row...
Iron the seams towards the top and bottom rows. Flip to right side and smile at your completed wonky star!...
I would like to note that this technique was first devised by Gwen Marston and shown in her wonderful book Liberated Quiltmaking.
And once again, hats off to Tia for starting this heartfelt project!
You can view more of my Tutorials HERE, and my Patterns HERE.
63 comments:
Perfect! I'm on it!
(my veri-word is rantish!)
Thanks Victoria!! This helps a lot!
A well written and easy-to-follow tutorial. These are going to look great together and, hopefully, provide some comfort.
I love 'wonky' but didn't realise its a technical quilting term!
A very well done tutorial, Victoria - thank you! By making it this simple you'll encourage lots more to join in. We should throw some roses at your feet!
That is a well written and illustrated tutorial. Thank you. Marilyn
yup, yup, yup ... this is perfect! thanks. it made the process clearer for me than any of the other tutorials I've seen (including gwen's book!). also, if you start with all 5" square blocks, when it's all together you can square it up at a bit of an angle ... adding to the "wonk"!
Great idea, John! Thanks!
thanks victoria...wish i would have seen this earlier...took me a bit to figure this out. i've passed it on to a few folks already.
Hey there Victoria! Great tutorial! I have linked to it from my blog...you really made everything so clear. Thank you so much!
xo,
Tia
Great - I am on it will make one this evening.
thanks for this. much easier to understand. my star even worked this time!
Thanks, I've been wanting to make these:)
Thanks for the easy to follow tutorial, I was very daunted by the other instructions but I should be able to follow your steps ok.
thank you for the great tutorial...i haven't made wonky stars before and was feeling a little bewildered after looking at other tutorials. this one is so simple and your pix make it easy peasy! i'll be making wonky stars in no time!!
:-)
/julie
I was following along quite nicely for the cutting & folding part, but once the stitching kicked in I was a lost cause. I'll just have to make do with smiling at your completed wonky star :) This was a really nicely set out & easy to follow tutorial. I think you've helped a lot of people out by sharing this. And probably inspired a bunch of non-quilters to even give it a go!
Worked great! Took me less than 1/2 hour to make this one - including the search for fabrics. Great tutorial, Victoria!
http://flickr.com/photos/7423291@N04/3274568722/
Awesome! Thanks for sharing it :)
What a great tutorial - thanks for sharing!!
I feel so inspired to try! I love your square, the colors are fabulous and I am a sucker for stripes.
this is so cool, and as always you made such a neat and perfect job of it, thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much for the great tutorial. I followed it to make two quilt squares this morning and they turned out great.
great and simple tutorial. I think even a beginner like me could try it. Thanks, Victoria!
Thanks for the tutorial, nice and easy! If everyone made 4 or 5 (an hour's work), imagine how many quilts could be made. Thanks again for a super tute! ;)
Great Tutorial! Thank you!
Thank you for this tutorial. I am in NZ and will try to make one or two. I will need an address to send them to :-)
Information as to where to send your blocks to can be found here:
http://flickr.com/groups/bushfirequiltproject/discuss/72157613583133796/
Sorry that link didn't work, let me try again...
Bushfire Quilt Project
I have made several blocks so far
thanks to your....
Excellent step by step tutorial!
Thank you Victoria!
I will put a link from my blog.
Thank you for doing this tutorial. It is so well-organized and makes the whole process so much easier to understand! I will be doing my sewing tomorrow and hope to mail out a few blocks to the project sometime this week. This has really been a big help!
great straightforward tute! thanks for doing this, your blocks are yummy
THANK YOU! I followed the tutorial for maverick stars and then realised that my blocks would be 6 inches instead of 12 and half - oops! Was just sitting here thinking what size I needed to cut my squares to end up with a 12 and half inch block when I found your comment on the Bushfire Quilts flicker page. Really should stop and think before I cut and sew! ;-)
Victoria,
Thank you sooooooooo much for your great tutorial!!! I have some friendship stars cut out for the Australia project, but now that I have this, and it makes sense, I'll make a few of these too!
You made it so easy to follow. Thank you, thank you!!!
Sally in TX
Thanks so much for the tutorial; it really helps my "Linear" side become more carefree; off the make my blocks for BQP.
I get it! Thanks for simplifying the process. Sweeet-tah!!!
Very clear - thank you so much!!
Thank you so much. I can get these done tomorrow. I really appreciate your time and clarity in this tutorial.
Thank you. Your tutorial is the best. I am heading to the studio to make a few squares to get in the mail on Monday. Hope all is well.
Thank you for thegreat tutorial !
The wonky stars are so funny , I am happy I can participate to the Bushfire Quilt Project !
Thanks for the great tutorial. I just finished my first block. It was so easy and fun, thanks to your directions!
sheree
Thank you so much for this tutorial. It was so easy to follow your directions and pictures. I have never quilted before but I'm converted now!
Thanks for the tutorial! It came in really handy when I made my bushfire quilt top.
I love this star, and you make it look so easy!
Thank you for posting this great tutorial! A good friend of mine sent me a link to your blog. Im making a quilt for my son using this star pattern, I hope you dont mind I linked back to you. Let me know if you do mind, I can take it off. Thanks again! Your blog is great!!
whoooooooooo hoooooooooooooo, it worked, it is beautiful, you rock!!! thank you so much!
Thank you. I am going to follow your instructions for a block for Crazy Mom Quilt's valor quilt. Happy to see the pictures; they sure help this visual learner! :)
This is WONDERFUL! What a great tutorial. I too am linking to you from my blog Where Did I See That. This looks fun and fast.
I too found you from Crazy Mom Quilts.
Thank you soooo much!
Thank you so much for your great tutorial. It is very clearly written and so easy to follow. I'm excited to see how the stars evolve.
may i have your permission to link to this post for my online quilting bee?
thanks for your consideration.
Wow, Victoria, I am so behind on reading blogs!! I love this post. Thank you! I am going to bookmark this one for quick reference later. I love it... oh I said that already.
Thank you so much for this tutorial. I am still very new at quilting, and am trying my hand at different techniques to get the hang of things. I love this one so much, I think I'll make a quilt for myself (do we quilters *ever* make quilts for ourselves...?!) out of these blocks.
All the best!
Thanks for taking the time and effort to make this tutorial. I just used it yesterday and made a star. :)
thank you so much for the tute...I would love to try it !
WOW! Love it! =) Thanks for sharing your tute. :0)
Angie
Nice job on the tutorial. This is a block I've wanted to make for a while, but didn't really know the process. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much for such a straightforward tutorial. Have just made 3 blocks. I've never made this block before and I don't think I could have been directed to a better tutorial than yours.
Many thanks. Much appreciated!!
THANK YOU!
This was very helpful! I blogged about this here: http://www.bluejcottage.blogspot.com
Thank you so much for sharing!
PS I think you have a couple comments that are spammers....just an FYI!
Thank you so much for this tutorial! A wonky star pattern is exactly what I was looking for, and your tutorial is so clear and easy to follow. I made my first one using 2.5" squares and it turned out beautifully. Thank you again for your help.
Thank you for such a fantastic tutorial. I have made this block so many different times since finding your tut. I've linked to it at my blog cottonaddiction dot blogspot dot com Thank you!
Fabulous Liberation! Thank you for this great tut! Dreaming of stars floating on a quilt!
Thanks for sharing your tutorial. I have posted about it on my Freebies blog if thats okay....hugs Khris
Love that it is not straight!!! I my be able make it work.
Regards Sandra
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