Sister's Choice Quilts

My interests are quilting, reading, cooking, family, decorating, and matters of style. I post regular quilting tutorials and book reviews of current fiction.

Essential Tool for Antique Star Blocks

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The Antique Star pattern was put out a few years ago by Bonnie Blue Quilts (now Red Crinoline).  You can still buy the pattern on their website.  This quilt requires 85 blocks in two different value placements.  Each star block uses four hour glass blocks, for a total of 340.

In the past I have found making hour glass blocks tedious, and quite frustrating, because they would never all end up the same size.  There is a tool that makes all that a thing of the past, and I promise hour glass blocks will become a fun thing to make.

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The ruler is the Fit to be Quarter 6.5, designed by the brilliant Monique Dillard of Open Gate Quilts.  Achieving the perfect accuracy with this ruler involves making your hour glass units a trifle larger than you need.  I won't go into detail on how to make an hour glass block, there are plenty of places to go to see how to do that.  I want to focus on how to trim them down to the perfect size.  You take your slightly too big hour glass unit and place the Fit to be Quarter ruler on top of it, lining things up with the numbered lines.  Do you see that piece of pink tape right over the center intersection?  I stuck that on there so my old eyes would easily find my sweet spot every time.  You just trim away the little bit of excess on the right side and the top, then flip your unit around 180 degrees and do it again.  Perfect 2.5 inch squares every time.  This ruler allows you to make units up to 6.5 inches, hence the name.

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If you like, Monique also makes a 2.5 inch version of this ruler, which I tried out as well.  No guess work there, that is for sure.  I switched to the larger ruler because I was having an issue of my hand slipping and getting off the spot I needed to be.  It was my fault, not the ruler.  I just preferred the control I felt I had when I held down the larger ruler over my unit while trimming.

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Another fun thing I am enjoying while making these star blocks is that you can use diagonal prints and get the lines all going in the same direction every time.  Nothing I hate more than having diagonal prints going every which way in a block.  Is that print adorable or what?  Doesn't it look like little olives?  So cute.

 

 

18 responses to “Essential Tool for Antique Star Blocks”

  3. Oh, if only I would have had that ruler when I was making an Ohio Star quilt for my sister. I about drove myself crazy trying to get the blocks the same size! Great information and I will add this ruler to my list of “gotta have it”!

  4. Oh, if only I would have had that ruler when I was making an Ohio Star quilt for my sister. I about drove myself crazy trying to get the blocks the same size! Great information and I will add this ruler to my list of “gotta have it”!

  5. Count me in with those who like making pieced blocks a bit too large and trimming them to size for accuracy. Interesting rulers!
    I spent much of yesterday trimming 84 HSTs to 2.5″ and my wrists are talking to me about that.
    Hugs!

  6. Count me in with those who like making pieced blocks a bit too large and trimming them to size for accuracy. Interesting rulers!
    I spent much of yesterday trimming 84 HSTs to 2.5″ and my wrists are talking to me about that.
    Hugs!

  9. Nicole, you enabler. 😉 I love your block very much and went straight to Monique Dillard’s website to order the ruler. Thanks to you I have her Fit to be geese-rulers too. 🙂

  10. Nicole, you enabler. 😉 I love your block very much and went straight to Monique Dillard’s website to order the ruler. Thanks to you I have her Fit to be geese-rulers too. 🙂

  13. I always think the blocks come out nicer if you make them too large, then trim. I like the idea of the larger ruler as I find when I use a ruler that is “just the right” size I end up crunching my rotary cutter across the corner – that can’t be good for the ruler or the blade! Thanks for the nice write-up.

  14. I always think the blocks come out nicer if you make them too large, then trim. I like the idea of the larger ruler as I find when I use a ruler that is “just the right” size I end up crunching my rotary cutter across the corner – that can’t be good for the ruler or the blade! Thanks for the nice write-up.

  17. I usually don’t get specialty rulers, but I’m looking into that one right now.
    Thanks! You know, reading your blog is like taking a quilt class! Love it!

  18. I usually don’t get specialty rulers, but I’m looking into that one right now.
    Thanks! You know, reading your blog is like taking a quilt class! Love it!