Star and Cross quilt block tutorial
Star and Cross is a traditional quilt block made with three fabrics. This tutorial is for a 5” version.
The star and cross quilt block is an easy block because it is made up of squares and rectangles.
I’m not sure why it was named “star and cross” because I don’t see an obvious star in it, but there is an obvious cross.
This block is made with three fabrics – light, dark and feature.
Fabric Requirements
Everything you need to make this project.
Light fabric (background)
- five 1-1/2″ squares
- four 1-1/2″ x 2-1/2″ rectangles
Dark fabric
- four 1-1/2″ x 2-1/2″ rectangles
Feature fabric
- four 1-1/2″ squares
Video
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Tutorial
Follow these steps to make your own 5″ Star and Cross quilt block.
Make the corners
Use four light squares, the light rectangles and the feature squares.
Sew a light fabric to each feature fabric with a 1/4” seam. When these are joined, double check the size. They should be 1-1/2” long.
Then add a light rectangle to each of these pieces. You will end up with four pieces and each of these should be 2-1/2” square.
Press the seams away from the squares.
You will make four corners in this way.
Layout the block
Layout the block as shown in the image.
Join pieces into rows
Join each row together with 1/4″ seams.
Press the seams away from the dark fabric.
Join the rows together
Join the rows together, aligning the seams in the middle.
The block will be 5-1/2″ square.
Quilt options
You can use this block in a quilt with other blocks in a planned design or in a sampler quilt.
Here is an image of a quilt using alternating variations of the star and cross block. One of the blocks is made just like my sample with white fabric for the light, green for the dark and red for the feature. The alternate block is made with the green and white fabrics switched. I think this is a stunning quilt that gives the impression of plaid. This quilt would be easy to make.
Want more quilt block tutorials?
I have a whole collection of quilt block tutorials.