Baby Quilt Tutorial: Stretching Wonky Stars

Hello There! I have a tutorial for you today! Take one charm pack add in some solid scraps sew it up a bit wonky and ta-da - a little baby quilt! I am not the best at using pre-cuts, they tend to just hang around the studio until bam - light bulb! And that's just what happened with this little charmer.

Fabric: Summersville for Moda

Pre-cuts are a good way to buy a complete fabric line. I bought a charm pack because I knew I loved the Summersville fabric line by Moda that came out this summer (2012). The line drawings and little houses mixed with modern prints in bold primary colors needed to join the stash. The charm pack of 42 - 5" squares in all the prints and colors seemed like a good way to bring home the quilty goodness. And it was, especially once I paired it up with a bunch of solid scraps I had in complimentary colors!

But I knew I wanted something a little different than the normal patchwork quilt (typical me, can't do anything normal). So I cut a bunch of small solid squares to make a little sumpthin-sumpthin special. Once I had the blocks done I messed around with the layout and another bam - light bulb moment. Stretching wonky stars fell into place and I just knew I had to share it with you...cause I love sharing!

So how about it? A stretching wonky stars baby quilt tutorial - let's go!

Materials Needed:
1 Charm Pack - or 42 5" squares
84 squares of solid scraps (1.75" - 3" squares)
Boarder: 2 scrappy strips 3"x26.5" & 2 strips 3"x36" or 4 3" strips from 44" wide fabric
Binding: 150" 2.5" wide strips
Backing: 36"x40" solid or pieced fabric
Sewing machine, thread, rotary cutter, mat....usually quilting suspects

First step is to cut out a bunch of squares in different sizes. The different sizes is what gives this stretching star pattern it's wonky bit. Cut out 84 squares in colors that match the fabric you're using. I went with green, blue, red, grey, orange - in primary shades and colors one or two shades lighter or darker.

Once the squares have been cut it is time to sew them into the corners of the charm squares. Match up corners and pin in place; like so. 

Next mark a line with a disappearing marker or a hera marker from corner to corner of the small solid squares and sew across like shown below. A little tip for this part: make sure to sew straight across from corner to corner. Super important to getting a straight block in the end. If the corner is a little off - no problem, just unpick and do over!

Once sewn from corner to corner trim the outside triangle leaving a 1/4" seam allowance.

Next press open the seams..there you have it one block done....41 more to go!

Okay so I didn't get photos of this part; but it's easy to piece together and I'll tell you how. 

Once all the blocks have been sewn with two triangles in the corner it is time to make some wonky stars. Line up the blocks 6 rows by 7 columns with the triangles pointing in the same direction (see photo below - check out how the triangles are all pointing in the same direction). Lay out the rows and sew together, pressing seams open. Then sew the 6 rows together to make the quilt top 6 blocks wide by 7 blocks tall.

Next step is to add the boarder. I just used more scraps that I had on hand sewing them together until it was the right length for each side. I ended up with 2 strips 3"x26.5" & 2 strips 3"x36". You could also use just one color and cut out 4 - 3" strips from 44" wide fabric.

Ah, ha! Now you should have a completed little baby blanket (32"x36"). I just love the solid fabrics and the wonky star tips and the bright colors and the scrappyness of the whole thing. I do lurv it ;)I backed this quilt with a solid piece of vintage blue linen, the binding is the same. I quilted it with funky mod-pods a`la Elizabeth Hartman quilting class. Super fun and easy to do on this little quilt.

So now that I've made this fun quilt and shared it with you it's going into the Etsy shop to find a new loving home. Find the listing here.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and it sparks your inspiration or your mojo to get making! If you have any questions just ask! Email me bluebirdsews at gmail.com.

Cheers!
Kelly 

ps. I'll be sharing this tutorial all week at link parties I love, come and join the share!