Instructions for a Lone Star Quilt

Choose eight different fabrics that complement each another. Cotton is the material most quilters use.

Decide if you want to make a lap quilt or a full-sized quilt. The following amounts are for a large lap quilt or a 69-inch star. The fabrics below are labeled from A to H. A represents the center of the star color. Following the yardage is the list of how many strips you will need of each color. A. 1/4 yard of material. 2 strips B. 3/8 yard of material. 4 strips C. 1/2 yard of material. 6 strips D. 5/8 yard of material. 8 strips. E. 3/4 yard of material. 10 strips. F. 7/8 yard of material. 12 strips. G. 1 yard of material. 14 strips H. 1 1/2 yards of material. 16 strips.

Cut each strip 2 1/4 inches wide. If the material you purchased is 45 inches wide. Then the strips will be 2 1/4 by 45 inches.

Purchase 2 1/4 yards of fabric for a border and 1 1/3 yards of material for the background fabric. You will also need to purchase a backing material and batting to finish your Lone Star quilt.

Lay out the strips in the following pattern:

Sew each strip together starting from row A and ending with row H. Off-set each strip by 2 inches at the beginning of each row. This will be on the left side. Press each seam open when you are finished sewing them together.

Place the fabric seam side down and cut the left side off, lining up the edges at an angle. To cut the edge correctly, line up your ruler so the 45-degree mark is parallel with the seams of each strip. Cut this edge with a rotary cutter.

Cut 2 1/4-inch strips from the left edge. After cutting four strips, stop and make sure the angle is still at 45 degrees. Line up your ruler as you did in Step 3. Be careful when handling the strips because they will stretch. As you cut each strip, stack them one on top of the other, keeping them in order.

Pick up the first two strips cut. Turn them so the seam side is facing upward. Make a mark 1/4 inch from the edge across the first, center and last seams. Do this on both strips. You will need these to match up the next strip of fabric so the seams match.

Place the seams facing outwards and line up the cut edges. Place a stick pin at the sewn intersection where you made each mark. Just keep the pin in a horizontal position. Put two pins on each side of horizontal pins, to pin the strips together. Remove the standing pins. Baste the sections with running stitches to keep the strips from shifting. You can do this with your sewing machine.

Remove the pins and check the points before you machine stitch. If the seams match, set your machine to a shorter stitch and begin sewing. Sew the entire seam from top to bottom.

Repeat Section 3 until all the strips of your diamond are complete. You will have eight colors across and eight colors down. Create eight separate diamond sections.

Take one diamond and place it seam side up. Mark 1/4-inch seam allowance at each point and also make a mark 1/4 inch from the edge across the first, center and last seams. You will need these to match up the next strip of fabric so the seams match. Do this for each diamond section.

Measure two or three diamond sections along the straight edge for an average of how big each section is. Add 2 inches to this measurement and then cut four squares of your background fabric. The measurement should be around 23 inches.

Lay two diamond sections together as if they were already sewn. Measure between the outside points. Add another 3 inches to this number. Cut one square of background fabric. This square should be around 32 inches. Cut this square from corner to corner, making four triangles.

Sew the diamonds to the squares for each corner. Begin sewing from the outside point to the inside point of the diamonds. Match the seams and corners at 1/4 inch as you did in Step 1, Section 3. Sew the triangles onto the diamonds in the same manner. These will go on in the center along the outside of the quilt top. Make sure you match the corners as you did in Step 1, Section 3.

Sew the triangles onto the diamonds in the same manner. These will go on in the center along the outside of the quilt top. Make sure you match the corners as you did in Step 1, Section 3.

Sew the sections together to make one complete quilt top.

Add a border to the quilt top. For the border, cut your strips at 2 1/4 inches wide and join them together. Sew them around the outside of the quilt top.

Lay the backing of the quilt onto the floor. Place the batting on top of this, then place your quilt top on top. Make sure each layer is smooth and not bubbled or puckered.

Pin the three together with safety pins. Safety pins are better because they won't fall out when you pick up the quilt and move it to your sewing machine or quilting hoop.

Quilt the Lone Star quilt by either using a pattern that you drew onto the quilt top with a quilting pen, stitch in the ditch or you can do free-motion quilting.

Trim the backing and batting, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch, depending on the width of the binding you are going to use.

Sew the binding on, going around the entire quilt.