Hidden Stars Sew Along Weeks 7&8!!

poweredbyquilting

5 years ago

Weeks 7&8 are all about Group B Stars! I'll be at QuiltCon from tomorrow through the weekend, so there might not a Facebook Live video for these weeks! As always, you can leave notes in the Facebook Group and I'll be there to answer them! You can also check out the Group A video since this week is going to be very similar!

Here's what you'll need for Week 7&8:

Group B squares which are the Center squares.
Background Squares that are the Stars (this is a different size than the Group A squares).
RECOMMENDED TOOLS (besides a rotary cutter and a small ruler to cut squares in half):
- 4.5" Cute Cuts Trim It Ruler by Lori Holt (a 4.5" Square Ruler will work as well)
- 6.5" Square Ruler

For the sew along, I will be showing the quilt in Prettiful Posies by Designs by Sarah J. You can purchase your own fat eighth bundle from Serendipity Woods here if you would like your quilt to look like mine.

Group B Star Unit Tips:

This is very similar to Group A Star Units. However, these are FASTER to make because the print fabric is the center.
- Most of the tips are the same as Group A, but you will do Group B as one set rather than breaking them up based off of the stacks of fabric.
You do not need to sort your fabric or keep track of them in order for the unit construction.
You will take your entire stack of background squares and cut them diagonally from corner to corner to create a triangle.
Take your stack of Group B center blocks and the Background triangles to your sewing machine and sew one triangle on one of the sides of each center block. Remember you can eyeball the center, it does not need to be exact.
Chain piece all of the triangles to one of the sides of the squares then cut apart all of the units using your thread snips or Sunflower Thread Cutter. Repeat on the opposite side and cut apart.

Using a hot iron, press open all of the triangles, then flip the stack over and press the seams open.
Using your fabric scissors, carefully cut the little fabric dog ears off. You do not need to be perfectly aligned with the square, but do not cut into the seam allowance. Repeat for all 4 dog ears for each piece in your stack.

Take your 3rd stack of triangles and sew them to one of the remaining sides of the unit. Then repeat with the last stack of triangles. Remember you do not need to be 100% exact and eyeballing should get you close enough. Make sure to align the triangle with the square, not the trimmed dogear.

Go back to your ironing board and press the triangles open, then reverse the stack to press all the seams open.
For trimming the unit, I find that the Cute Cuts Trim It Ruler is best because it has the seam allowances already highlighted on all sides. Make sure that your corners of the center square align with the seam allowances on the ruler. If you don't have a Cute Cuts Trim It Ruler, you can use a standard 4.5" ruler but you will need to check where the corners touch your ruler for the seam allowances.
I only trim 2 of the sides with the Cute Cuts Trim It Ruler. I then rotate my unit 180 degrees and use my 6.5" Square Ruler to trim the other 2 sides. I find that this is more accurate for me since I don't change hands using my rotary cutter.