Star in the Cabin Quilt Block Tutorial

The Star in the Cabin block shows the possibilities of thousands of log cabin blocks.  It takes another block and uses it as the centre block of a log cabin.  I have used a sawtooth star, but you could use any block that you want.

See how to make the Star in the Cabin quilt block in this tutorial. It has a lot of steps, but it isn’t super-difficult.

This tutorial makes a 9″ version of the block.

Cutting

All fabric pieces are 1-1/2″ wide. Cut the following lengths.

In addition to these pieces, you will need one dark 2-1/2″ square.

Details

More info about how to make this block

Make the sawtooth star

The first step is to make the little star block that will go in the centre of the larger block.

For this block, I made flying geese with the Easiest Ever Method for Flying Geese. You can use a different method if you prefer, but you will need to cut your fabric differently.

Take the dark 1-1/2″ squares and mark a diagonal line on them.  Chalk or slivers of soap make good markers for dark fabrics if you don’t have a light pencil.

Place this on a light 1-1/2″ x 2-1/2″ rectangle, aligning one end.  Sew right on the marked line.  You should have half of your dark squares left over.

Trim off the corner (make sure you cut the right side!)

Press open.  The piece should be 1-1/2″ x 2-1/2″

Repeat with the remaining dark squares, making sure the diagonal line goes in the other direction.  It should overlap the triangle piece.

Stitch on the line like the other side, then trim and press open.  The piece should still be 1-1/2″ x 2-1/2″.

Repeat three times so that you have four of these pieces.

This unit is often called a flying geese unit.  There are many other methods to doing this, but I prefer this method for geese so small.  The waste is minimal and accuracy is improved.

Use these flying geese units with the light 1-1/2″ squares and dark 2-1/2″ squares to make a 4-1/2″ sawtooth star block.

Sew the pieces into rows

The little stars should be 4-1/2″ square.

Make the Star in the Cabin block

This little sawtooth star block will now be used as the centre for a larger log cabin block.

Add one round of bars, beginning with the dark 4-1/2″ piece and going around to the light 6-1/2″ piece.

Repeat with another round – dark, dark, light, light.

Finish off with just two dark bars.

The finished block will be 9-1/2″ (9″ in a finished quilt).

Block Layouts

You can use this block in any quilt pattern that uses log cabin quilt blocks. It will add an interesting touch.

All in the same orientation:

diagonal rows:

traditional barn raising layout:

More quilt blocks

Love traditional quilt blocks?

Check out all the tutorials in my Quilt Block Directory.