It’s time for another month of Quilt Block Mania! Once again, we have a whole bunch of designers sharing complementary patterns for 12” finished quilt blocks. The patterns are guaranteed to be free all month long! (Free through February 28, 2021)

This month’s theme is Lucky Charms. Thinking of good luck charms brought to mind Pinocchio wishing on the brightest star in the sky. So I decided to design a block of Wishing Stars. The curves in the block are achieved with no curved piecing! Instead, they use a machine-sewn cathedral windows technique. It’s so easy! Be sure to scroll down for construction tips.

Full Quilt

This block would make such a fun quilt! In the pictures below, I flipped every other block upside down to make the stars feel a bit more random. Here’s what it would look like if every block used the same colors.

And here’s what it would look like if the stars were scrappy!

I feel like it would also be a lot of fun with warmer fall colors.

Tips for Success

Marking

The measurements for the markings can be found in the pattern. Be sure to mark half on the left and half on the right! My favorite fabric pen is the Pentel Gel Roller for Fabric. It writes so smoothly! Since it’s permanent, I also use this pen for all of my quilt labels.

Basting

I found it super helpful to use a little bit of washable glue along the edges of the background rectangle. Just be careful to keep the glue near the edges. You don’t want to glue too close to the diagonal since that will get pulled over to create the curve.

The glue made such a difference in keeping my fabrics from slipping when I basted them together. I used a longer stitch length and sewed with the background rectangle wrong side up so I could see the edges.

Trimming

Once the basting is finished, I trimmed the excess star fabric. It’s easiest to do this while it’s wrong side up, because then you can just line up the ruler with the edge of the background rectangle. I’m using my favorite non-slip Creative Grids ruler and blue squeezy rotary cutter.

Flattening Seams

There’s lots of fabric layers coming together in the stars. Press the seams open to keep the bulk manageable. I also found it helpful to spritz the seam with a bit of water, press with my normal iron, then rest my sad iron on top to trap the heat. The sad iron makes such a difference in how flat the block lays!

I got my sad iron at an antique store. I’ve found that most antique stores seem to have them. Since they tend to be rusty with age, I scrubbed the rust off then painted it with heat resistant Rustoleum. It’s held up really well.

use sad iron to flatten bulky quilt seams

Making the Curves

Now it’s time for the magic! The curves in these stars are made without any curved piecing. Once the star pieces are sewn together, you simply pull the folded edge on top of itself to form a curve. Then sew along the folded edge with matching thread.

fold edge to create cathedral window curve

When you get to a point, raise the presser foot and pivot with the needle down. Then fold the next section and keep on sewing.

I found it really helpful to use a stiletto near the corners. It helped keep the fabric in place when there wasn’t room for fingers.

use stiletto for machine sewn cathedral windows

All Together

I had so much fun with this block that I couldn’t stop at just one. This set of four could make a fun wall hanging or table topper. Or maybe even a giant pillow! For this layout, I flipped every other block upside down to make the stars less predictable. I hope you have as much fun with this as I did!