Step 2 in how I made my Christmas Runner:
First up – let me just clarify that I’m not going to call this a tutorial…
It is just me sharing my process of how I made them and I am going to assume that you are already proficient in improv piecing and can figure out the details yourself.
Because…
a) I’m feeling annoyed with these stars because they are fiddly, and {not to put you off before I’ve even started – but} you know I can’t stand fiddly things right?! Therefore I cannot be bothered to write out a proper tutorial for them sorry LOL…
b) Paper piecing is a better method of making these stars if you want a less improv & more accurate result. If I was more proficient in paper piecing then I would probably do it that way instead using this pattern here. So, if you can stand to paper piece then I would probably recommend you try that first instead.
But – since I dislike am not yet very fluent in paper piecing & do really like improv piecing, then this was my preferred method this time. This way makes it darn near on impossible to make two the same though, unless you were to practise a lot and add some fine tuning to my method. So I would definitely say it was improv piecing and the result will net a unique, possibly quite probably slightly wonky star.
If that is your thing, and it suits your purpose – then I’ll share my process in case it is useful to you…
A really important note before you begin though – is that you really really need to concentrate hard when you are lining up your star points to the middle piece, otherwise they’ll probably be in the wrong place entirely. It’s not like piecing squares or straight lines where you line them up centrally before you piece. With stars & angles you actually want to line them up quite off centre to where you think you’ll need to. The reason that I’m so annoyed with this method really is because of this & the fact I still have not mastered it. I had to use my unpicker several times. It can take a while to get the hang of it.
So I would highly recommend that you line it up then flip it over with 1/4 inch seam & see how it looks before you sew anything and make the necessary amendments to your placement.
That all being said, here is my process…
First I drew a star & cut out the bits onto freezer paper adding a 1/4 inch seam as I went…
Then placed them on my scraps & cut them out.
{Back to front as it happens – but that’s only because I had issues with my freezer paper turning out not to be sticky when I ironed it. Doh! So that shouldn’t happen to you….}
Grab a large white scrap & work out the best place to sew your angle
Sew it, press it over & trim
Sew it to the big piece in the middle so that you have your first segment completed…
Work on the next segment & construct it just as you have this one…
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| ooops – didn’t quite make it big enough so I had to add an extra piece (I was just using scraps) Moral of the story – use pieces bigger than what you need! |
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| all fixed… |
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| line up the points carefully!!! |
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| sew it to segment A |
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| Last segment… |
This is the bit that gets the most tricky… make sure you are careful to line it up and flip it over 1/4 of an inch to see how it sits before you sew….
See I got to this point before deciding that it looked too off centre for me so I decided to unpick it and start again…
(that was after I’d already lined it up & relined it up several times. Probably why I’m annoyed!!)
The finished product after said unpicking….
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| Not looking too bad! |
And the finished star made into a mugrug with one of my trees….
It could have looked better with being on a slightly different angle in the mug rug! ooops… oh well, too bad, it’s done now & I was working with the short side so it would be the right height, that is why 🙂
Let me know if you have any questions & I’ll try to help where I can.
And if you are feeling really brave you could try improv piecing them in this way without the freezer paper templates – that’s actually how I made the ones in my table runner – just totally freestyle. But I think this way gives a more “starlike” star – if there is such a thing, but most of all it makes it easier to control the final size.
As always I’d love to see your ones if you have a go…
I LOVE it Kat ! I think it’s great that they all end up different! Thanks very much for sharing your process! I definitely want to be able to do them this way – not much of a precision person myself!
Thank you for sharing your process! I have never tried piecing this way, might just have to give it a go.
How handy, this was the second PP way that I was about to try on my next block. May use this as a bit of practice first :o)
I think your star is lovely and believe it or not, it’s exactly like I’d make one too! No paper piecing for me either.
Noooooooooooooo…those stars are so cute I want to rush out and start a new quilt featuring them!
Must . Have . Willpower.
I am having heart failure just looking at your tutorial….
It is gorgeous!
I have tried making this star before. I know what you mean about paper piecing. I can’t figure it out really. besides, i like to skip steps not add them. I also tried it by cutting my pieces exactly beforehand. it almost worked. the whole thing just stresses me out. I will have to try your improv method. I think i’m still a little confused after looking at it, but i’ll let you know how it turns out. Gimme time though. it might be awhile. i like how your star turned out.