Star Cluster Quilt-a-Long Week #4

Week #4 - Medium Stars

Sorry for the late post today. The days seem to be running together - and running faster!

Are you on track making your blocks for Star Cluster? This week, the 5 1/2" stars are easy to make, if you're careful when piecing the star point units. Here are a couple of tips from Week #2 when we added the star points to the 5 1/2" churn dash blocks.

Step #1 - When making connecting corners (CC) for star points, lay a square on the end of a rectangle, right sides together. For a perfectly straight stitching line, mark a line diagonally from corner to corner with a chalk marker (or your favorite marking tool) on the wrong side of the dark star point square. Follow the line to stitch. Or line up the outer corner with the "0" line on your sewing machine tray, as shown below, and stitch toward the corner. Use the method you're most comfortable with that delivers the best results for you. My tip is: Always begin stitching from the inside corner, not the outside corner. If you begin stitching on the outside corner, there is more chance your fabric will bunch as it's pushed by your presser foot and not stitch as smoothly.     

Step #2 - After trimming the excess tan and dark triangles 1/4" away from your stitching line, press the seam open, beginning in the center, not on the corner. At this point, you're pressing across bias edges. This helps prevent stretching and distortion of the star point connecting corner and the background rectangle. I use the point of my iron to open the seam and dry press, then follow up with a spray of sizing and press again for a nice, crisp finish. 

Here's the back of a star block to show the pressing...

And four of the blocks I have finished. Five more to go!

See you next Tuesday for Mini Stars - so fun!