LeMoyne Star quilt block tutorial

LeMoyne Star is an old quilt block. Traditionally, it was made with parallelograms and lots of y-seams. The thought of that causes many quilters to break out into a cold sweat. If you are hand-piecing, then definitely go the traditional route. But if you are piecing by machine, these shortcuts will make your life a lot easier.

This method takes the parallelograms (diamond shapes) and breaks them down into half-square triangles. It adds extra seams, but the time savings make it worth it.

Enjoy this block on its own or as part of the Twinkle Sampler Quilt.

Fabric requirements

For a 12″ block

• four 3-1/2″ squares background fabric
• four 3-1/2″ half square triangles* feature fabric 1 and feature fabric 2
• four 3-1/2″ x 6-1/2″ flying geese units** background fabric, feature fabric 1 and feature fabric 2

*Use your favourite method to make the half square triangles. For this block, I recommend the Most Popular Method. It makes two at a time and they are trimmed to the exact size. Remember that the finish size is 3″, so this piece will be 3-1/2″.

**Use whatever method you want for the flying geese units, but be careful with the Most Popular Method. Because this unit has two different colours of “wings” in it, that method won’t work. It will result in units with the colours on opposite sides. If you are making more than one block, you can use it twice and end up with two sets. If you are only making one block, I recommend paper piecing. It makes accurate pieces, and is simple to do. Remember that the finish size is 3″ x 6″, so this piece will be 3-1/2″ x 6-1/2″.

Block assembly

Layout all the pieces according to the picture. Double check to make sure that the fabrics in the middle pinwheel match the placement of the flying geese.

Begin by assembling the pinwheel. Join pairs of half-square triangles.

Press the seams toward the darker fabric. Pressing in this way allows the seams to nest together for the next step.

Then join the pairs to make the pinwheel. To eliminate bulk, press the final seam open.

Once the inner pinwheel is made, it becomes like a nine-patch block. There are three pieces across and three down.

Join the pieces into rows. Press all the seams toward the flying geese.

Once the rows have been assembled, you will join them together. Because the seams were pressed toward the flying geese, they alternate directions between the rows. This will make it easier to join the rows.

After the last row is added, give the block a good press. It will be 12-1/2″ square.

Quilts with Lemoyne star blocks

“Triangle Tricks” – Island Batik challenge quilt.