How to sew a Feathered Star Quilt Part 1

Don’t let Feathered Star intimidate you! Sewing this quilt block is probably easier and faster than you expect.

There are 112 triangles in the feathers of this 20 inch block. Some Feathered Stars don’t have this many feathers but they are so easy with Inklingo, that we want lots. The more feathers, the more impressive the block!

The Feathers: Print, Layer, Stitch, and Cut

Print 64 triangles on one of the feather fabrics. I usually choose the lighter fabric so the ultra-fine lines are easier to see.

48 in 8.25 x 12.25

The other 48 are not printed.

16 in 4.25 x 8.5

Inklingo uses fabric very efficiently.

Layer 48 printed triangles with the unprinted feather fabric, and sew along all of the diagonal dashed lines.

Cut on the solid lines. Press to the dark.

That’s it! Print, layer, stitch, and cut. You have made 48 perfect “Sawtooth Squares” in just a few minutes!

And did you notice?
No math
(Never add 7/8ths to anything ever again!)
No tricky measuring
(These are 1.06 inch HST, so the center can be any 6 inch square.)
(For the 15 inch block, they are 0.795 inch HST.)
(For the 30 inch block, they are 1.59 inch HST.)
No expensive templates
(Inklingo saves you time, fabric, and money!)
No bias strips
All of the stretchy bias seams are sewn before they are cut
No special rulers
No trimming to size
Cut with scissors or a rotary cutter
Every square is perfect!

Chain piece the Sawtooth Squares, diamonds, and squares into rows of feathers.

Print the ingenious Inklingo pressing guide on fabric or paper and check the size.
(You can adjust your seam allowances, if necessary.)

If the rows are the right size now, everything will fit perfectly. No easing. No puckers. No worries.

The rest of the assembly is similar to sewing a nine-patch, and every step is illustrated in the Feathered Star Design Book (free for a limited time).

Accurate crosshairs and matching marks printed on the fabric make pinning a breeze, and the simple “partial seam technique” is intriguing.

Of course, if you prefer a portable project, you can sew by hand. Use “continuous stitching” for the feathers. It’s all in the Inklingo Feathered Star Design Book.

Love the lines. Quilt more.

You can make better quilts and you don’t have to stick to boring  “fast and easy” designs. Inklingo is easier and gives more precise results than any traditional method.

Inklingo Feathered Stars are precise, simple, and fast!

New to Inklingo?

Order and download free shapes and start sewing in the next few minutes. Quick Start  (Always FREE.) There are triangles in the free collection, so you can make Sawtooth Squares, Hourglass, and other blocks following the instructions in the free Triangle Tips file (under the Machine Piecing tab).

(Inklingo Design Books include everything you need to know, and the shapes to print on fabric are in Inklingo Shape Collections.)

You will feel like a star when your block turns out perfectly. You don’t have to tell anyone how easy it is with Inklingo—but we hope you will.

Have a happy holiday, including time with fabric. Thank you for visiting.

Linda & Monkey

PS  See other messages about Feathered Star in the archives. There is a search feature at the top.

PPS See the famous 80 Second Inklingo video  Turn your speakers on!

5 thoughts on “How to sew a Feathered Star Quilt Part 1”

  1. I want to make a 12 finished feathered star block and can only find patterns for larger ones. I am not a designer and don’t really know how to scale those patterns down. Can you tell me where I might find what I want or how to figure it out? Thanks. Evelyn
    Please respond to my email above.

    Reply
  2. Hi Cathie, Most of us machine piece Feathered Stars because the design is so well suited to machine piecing (no insets and quick, accurate triangles), but if you want to hand piece it, Inklingo makes the prep easy too. The instructions for hand piecing are in the Feathered Star Design Book too. Happy New Year!

    Reply
  3. Hi Linda, There are step-by-step instructions in the Inklingo Feathered Star Design Book—everything from choosing the fabrics, to preparing a worksheet, to sewing and cutting and pressing each seam. 85 pages, illustrated, and it is a FREE download right now. I think you will be amazed by how quickly and easily the shapes fit together. I’ve seen your beautiful hand made Christmas cards, and I know you can do it. 🙂 Happy New Year to you!

    Reply
  4. It looks so easy when you do it. wish I had the time to learn the right way to do it. I really need step by step by step instructions. Linda Gerig

    Reply
  5. Such a cute star you made and it seems soooo easy.
    I am planning a handstitching project for the stars so I will need to check out my copy of the handbook.
    Huggs to Monkey
    Cathie in Ut

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Linda Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.