Ohio Star Blocks and Quarter Square Triangles

Hello Everyone and welcome back. There hasn’t been a lot of sewing going on these past two weeks, but I have done a few things. I spent a day cleaning and organizing my desk, sewed part of the Moda Hexi pillow top together and pulled fabric and started sewing blocks for a Quilt of Valor project. We also spent a nice day with my parents and took a trip to Harrisonburg to one of the quilt shops and then had lunch there. I was able to buy the backing fabric for the Blue/Tan Stars Your Way quilt. Today though, will be all about the Ohio Star block for Quilts of Valor and making Quarter Square Triangles.

Have you made an Ohio Star block or used quarter square triangles (QSTs) in a block? I’m sure most of us have and there are several different ways to make them. As I was making the blocks and following the directions from the Quilt of Valor block, I learned a new technique and thought I would share it with you. For my stitchy friends who may not quilt, the QSTs are the red and cream units. The blue and cream units are Half Square Triangles (HSTs). Look at those points! I made 20 of them and they are all almost perfect.

Before I share the technique, let me tell you why I’m making these blocks. My quilt group is getting together this Friday to make Ohio Star blocks for Quilt of Valor (QofV) quilts. I didn’t know it, but the national group has a block of the year and you can just make the blocks and send them in without making a whole quilt. Our group is going to spend the day making blocks. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to stay and sew with them so I thought I would make some blocks to donate. You can go to here and get more information if you are interested in making blocks, too.

So back to Quarter Square Triangles. For the most part, I have used two methods to make QSTs. The first is to cut your squares, then cut each square on the diagonal twice to get four triangles. When you do this, You will be sewing your triangles together on the bias edge so you need to make sure that you don’t stretch your fabric. The other way and the one I used most of the time if making multiple units to be used in blocks such as the Ohio Star is to use HSTs. Julie at the Crafty Quilter has a very good tutorial if you’ve never used this method.

Photo from The Crafty Quilter

This is a good method to use because you are not sewing on the bias, but it can be fiddley because of the way you match the HSTs together.

The cutting directions in the Ohio Star Block on the QorV website shows two methods, one using a die cutter (Accuquilt) or rotary cutter. These directions were written by Nancy Cann. I used the rotary cutting directions which uses the method of cutting squares slightly larger, then trimming the units to the unfinished size.

Step 1: Cut your squares 1 1/2″ larger than finished size. For example for a finished 4″ unit, cut your squares to 5 1/2″. Mark a diagonal line from corner to corner or use a ruler to mark a 1/4″ line on each side of the center diagonal line.

Step 2: Sew 1/4″ seam on each side of the marked center line or sew on the drawn 1/4″ lines.

Step 3: Cut from corner to corner on the unmarked, unsewn diagonal first. Do not separate. Use a rotating cutting mat if you have one.

Step 4: Cut from corner to corner between the marked, sewn lines.

Step 5: Press units toward the darker fabric, then align as shown above. Sew together, being careful as these seams are on the bias. Trim unit to unfinished size.

By pressing the seams to the same side, they will nest as you sew the seams together.

I have never been a fan of making these units, but using this method was really quick and much easier for me. I will definitely be using this it in the future.

What about you? Have you used this method before? Let me know in the comments how you make QSTs.

As you can see, I still need to sew my Ohio Star blocks together so I’ll be working on them today. I hope we’ll have some warmer weather so I can baste my Stars quilt this weekend. I need to do it outside since I use the 505 spray baste.

I hope you have a great weekend. Thanks so much for stopping by.

Brenda