Introducing Starburst - A Tutorial and Giveaway!!

***NOTE***  I am excited to announce that we will be doing a Quilt-A-Long of this quilt in Jan 2013.  Check out the teaser and grab your button here!!    It's sure to be lots of fun and have lots of prizes!!

A few weeks ago I was contacted by the wonderful staff at Pat Bravo.   I was thrilled when they asked if I would be willing to do a giveaway of her beautiful Indie line. Of course!!!!  Stay tuned for the Giveaway, it's at the end and it is fabulous!!!   I was even more thrilled when we decided to do a tutorial along with the giveaway.  These fabrics are so beautiful and the feel is divine!!  They were an absolute pleasure to work with.  You can visit Pat Bravo here to find out more about these glorious fabrics :)

Fabric Collections    Blog      Facebook     Twitter      Pinterest 

So Let's get to it!!!  I am happy to introduce to you my newest tutorial . . . Starburst!!!!

And it even comes in 3 size options!!  So pick a size and get quilting!!!  (Pictured above is the 24" block option)

You will need:
12 Fat Quarters - I used an assortment from both Colorway's of Pat Bravo's Indie line
Background Fabric - Amount is listed in the chart below depending on the size quilt you desire to make.

STEP 1 - CUTTING

Divide your Fat Quarters with like prints together into 3 groups of 4.  Use the largest prints for the Center Star, the medium prints for the Star Surround, and the small prints for the Burst Points.  (Regardless of what size quilt you choose you will only use 12 Fat Quarters.)

* Sew WOF strips together to create the desired length of sashing.

Cut your fabrics according to the chart above.  Sort your fabrics into piles of similar Descriptions.  This will make it easier as you begin to put the pieces of the block together.  (They are not sorted that way in the picture below.)

The block is made up of 3 basic types of sub-blocks:  the Flying Geese Block, the Half Square Triangle Block, and the Goose in the Corner Block.  We'll start with the Flying Geese Block.

STEP 2 - FLYING GEESE

Gather all of the pieces described as FG.  Sort them into 2 piles as shown below.  To save time be sure and repeat each of the sub-steps in an assembly line fashion making an entire flock of geese rather than making 1 set of  geese at a time.  (I will show an example of the print as the Sky and the print as the geese)

With right sides together, lay two small squares onto your large square as shown.  Using your ruler, draw a pen line diagonally from the top left corner to the bottom right corner.

Now pin both sides of each square adjacent to that drawn line.  Make sure to put them out far enough that your presser foot won't hit them as you sew on by :)  Stitch a 1/4" seam along both sides of the drawn line (the black lines represent your stitching lines :)  Remember, you are doing these assembly line so go ahead and chain stitch all the sets on the right hand side of the line first, and then go back and do all the sets on the left hand side.

Clip your threads and then align your ruler along the drawn center line.  Cut your pieces apart along that drawn line.

Press your seam up towards your 2 little triangles.

Now, take 2 more little squares and align them on your two stitched pieces as follows with right sides together.  Once again, draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of the little squares from corner to corner.

Now pin each piece far enough out that your foot will go by and then once again, stitch a 1/4" seam along both sides of the drawn diagonal line.  (Remember to chain stitch to save time :)

Clip your threads and then using your ruler aligned along the drawn line cut your 2 separate pieces apart.

Press up toward the little triangles again.  Lastly, trim off the little corners.

And you are done!!!  Perfectly precise flying geese blocks without throwing away any scraps and without sewing a single triangle.  Fabulous!!  You should have 32 Flying Geese total.

STEP 3 - HALF SQUARE TRIANGLES

Onto the Half Square Triangles.  Gather all of the pieces described as HST.  Sort them into 2 piles as shown below.  To save time be sure and repeat each of the sub-steps in an assembly line fashion.

On the wrong side of the print fabric using your ruler, draw a pen line diagonally from the top left corner to the bottom right corner.

Lay your print square on your background square with rights sides together.  Pin both sides adjacent to that drawn line.  Make sure to put them out far enough that your presser foot won't hit them as you sew on by :)  Stitch a 1/4" seam along both sides of the drawn line (the black lines represent your stitching lines :)  Just like before, you are doing these assembly line so go ahead and chain stitch all the sets on the right hand side of the line, and then go back and do all the sets on the left hand side.

Clip your threads and then align your ruler along the drawn center line.  Cut your pieces apart along that drawn line.

Now press towards your print fabric.

And now you are ready to trim up your HST.  You will trim to 3 1/2 for the 24" block, 4 1/2" for the 32" block and 5 1/2" for the 40" block.  I will use the 3 1/2" trim for the example.  Start by aligning the 45 degree line on your square ruler with the seam line on your half square triangle.  Make sure that the raw edges of the half square triangle are over the 3 1/2" line's on your ruler.  Trim the 2 sides along the edge of the ruler.

Now spin your block 180 degrees.  Once again, align the 45 degree line on your ruler with the seam line on your half square triangle.  Align the raw edges of the half square triangle under the ruler on the 3 1/2" lines on your ruler.  Trim the 2 sides along the edge of the ruler.

And now you have Perfect Half Square Triangles.  They take a bit to trim but are totally worth it for perfect points!!  You should have 64 Half Square Triangles total.

STEP 5 - GOOSE IN THE CORNER

Lastly, the Goose in the Corner.  Gather all of the pieces described as GC.  Sort them into 2 piles as shown below.  And by now, you know to save time be sure and repeat each of the sub-steps in an assembly line fashion.

On the wrong side of the print fabric using your ruler, draw a pen line diagonally from the top left corner to the bottom right corner.

Lay your print square on your background square in any corner with rights sides together.  Pin both sides adjacent to that drawn line.  Make sure to put them out far enough that your presser foot won't hit them as you sew on by :)   Stitch a seam directly on top of your drawn line.  Remember, assembly line stitching.

Clip your threads and then align your ruler 1/4" over your stitched line.  Cut along the edge of the ruler.  Scrap your loose triangles.

Now press towards your print fabric.

And now you have cute Goose in the Corner blocks.  Quick and easy!!  You should have 16 Goose in the Corner Total

STEP 6 - BUILDING THE BLOCKS

And now that all of the sub blocks are made, you are ready to sew together a large block.  Gather the following and lay out as shown below.   2 sets of Flying Geese blocks in similar prints, 1 set with the sky in print fabric and 1 set with the goose in print fabric.  16 similar print Half Square Triangles.  4 coordinating Goose in the Corners.  The coordinating CS square.  And 4 each of your B pieces.

When sewing the block together placement is key!!  Place close attention to the direction of each piece.  All seams for sewing the block together are 1/4".  Press each seam after sewing.

Start your block by sewing the center star first.  Sew the star into three rows as follows.  For row 1 and 3 simply sew a background square to either side of your flying geese.  For row 2 sew a flying geese to either side of your center square.   Now sew the three rows together taking care to align and pin the seams.  Set the center aside.

Next, you will create the Side Bursts.  To do this you will sew three columns.  For Column 1 and 3 sew two HST's together (watch the placement) For column 2 you will sew your background rectangle to your flying geese.  Now sew the three columns together taking care to align and pin the seams.  Make 4 of these total.  (Once again, you can assembly line piece to save time :)

Now you can sew the entire block together.  Once again, we will be creating 3 rows.  For row 1 and row 3 sew a Goose in the Corner to either side of your Side Bursts you just created.  For row 2 sew a Side Burst to either side of your Center Star.  Now sew the three rows together taking care to align and pin the seams.

And your block is complete!!  Now repeat the Building Block steps to create a total of 4 blocks.

STEP 7 - SEWING THE QUILT TOP

With your four blocks complete you are ready to add your sashings and finish your quilt top.  Start by adding your smallest sashings in between the 2 rows of blocks as shown.  Sew the sashing to the right hand block first with a 1/4" seam.  Press towards the sashing.  Then sew the left hand block to the sashing creating 2 rows.  Press towards the sashing.

Now gather your three medium length sashings and lay them out as follows.  Once again, sew the sashing to the rows first using a 1/4" seam.  You will sew a sashing to to top and bottom of the first row and to the bottom of the second row. Press towards the sashing. Then sew the two rows together using a 1/4" seam.  Press towards the sashing.

Now simply gather the remaining 2 large sashings and lay them on the sides of the quilt as follows.  Finish by sewing the sashign to the sides of your quilt using a 1/4" seam.  Press towards the sashing.

And your quilt top is complete!!!  Doesn't it look stunning!!

STEP 8 - FINISHING UP

To finish you quilt go ahead and Baste it, quilt it, and bind it.  I know that's a lot of work to put into one sentence.  If you are new to quilting and need some pointers on how to finish your quilt you can see my video tutorials going over basting, quilting, and binding in detail.  

And if you like the quilting I did on this particular quilt, you can see the following video tutorial on how to create the all over echoed paisley design.  Enjoy!

Now enjoy your Indie Starburst Quilt!!!  If you make this quilt i would love to see a picture of it.  You can email it to me or add it to my Inspired by Happy Quilting Flickr Group.

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

And now, for all of you super patient readers, let's get to the GIVEAWAY!!!

A huge thank you goes out to Pat Bravo for sponsoring this fabulous giveaway!!!

So what's up for grabs??   A Fat Quarter Bundle of Pat's  Indie collection in one colorway, plus her newest skirt pattern La Boheme!!!  I just loved working with Indie and am so excited to be able to share these beautiful fabrics with one of you lucky readers!!

 

Want a chance to play with these stunning prints??  Here's how to enter:

1 - Leave me a comment telling me your most favorite print in this stunning Indie Collection.

2 - Follow Pat Bravo on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter, and then leave a comment here telling me how you follow.

3 - And If you follow my blog, new or old follower,  you can have a bonus entry. I love all you fabulous readers!!   Just leave me a comment letting me know.

That's Three chances to win for a total of 3 comments max!!

Enter now through Friday morning, September 28th.  Mr Random.Org will pick a winner that will be announced Friday Morning at 9am (ish) MST.

GOOD LUCK!!!!  And Happy Quilting!!