Block 8: Pinwheel in Sawtooth Star

Cutting Instructions:

From the Light fabric cut four 2 ¾ inch squares and four 2 ¾ x 5 inch rectangles

From the Medium-Light fabric cut two 3 ¼ inch squares

From the Medium-Dark fabric cut two 3 ¼ inch squares

From the Dark fabric cut eight 2 ¾ inch squares

Block 8 part 1 of 2
Center Pinwheel
  • Mark ¼ inch on each side of center diagonal on wrong side of the two medium dark 3 ¼ inch squares. Quilter’s Ruler Quick Quarter II is a great tool for marking these lines (See photo 1)
  • Place the marked medium dark squares right sides together (RST) with two medium light squares. Sew along the marked lines, just a needle width to the inside of the lines.
  • Cut apart on the center diagonal of each square to make four half square triangle units. Press seams toward the medium dark fabric. Trim each half square triangle unit to 2 ¾ inches. Be sure to line up the 45 degree angle ruler on the center diagonal when trimming.
  • Layout the pinwheel portion of the block as seen in photo 3. Sew top two half square triangles together and bottom two half square triangle units together. Be careful not to turn pieces around when assembling. Press seams toward medium dark fabric. Sew two halves together to create a pinwheel that is 5 inches by 5 inches.
Flying Geese Star Points
  • On the wrong side of the eight dark 2 ¾ inch squares, mark the center diagonal line.
  • Place a dark square on each 2 ¾ x 5 inch light rectangle with the marked line from the upper right corner toward the center bottom of the light rectangle as shown in photo 4.
  • Sew along the marked line just a needle width toward the bottom right corner.
  • Trim off the bottom right corner being sure to keep a ¼ inch seam allowance (see photo 5).
  • Press seam toward the dark triangle forming half of the flying geese unit as seen in photo 6.
Block 8 part 2 of 2
  • Place a second dark square on each light rectangle as seen in photo 7. Be sure the marked diagonal line forms V with the line of the first half (Note that this square overlaps the dark triangle on first half of the flying geese unit).
  • Sew along the marked line just a needle width toward the bottom left corner.
  • Trim off the bottom left corner being sure to keep a ¼ inch seam allowance (see photo 8).
  • Press seam toward the dark triangle forming the flying geese unit as seen in photo 9. You need 4 flying geese units for this block.
Finishing the Block
  • Lay out the flying geese units with the center pinwheel and the four light 2 ¾ inch squares to create a Sawtooth Star block with a pinwheel center.
  • Assemble in rows. Use pins to line up the “V” point of the flying geese units with the center of the pinwheel units. Press seams of the top and bottom rows toward the light corner squares. Press the seams of the middle row toward the center pinwheel.
  • Pin to match corners and points. Sew rows together pressing seams away from the center pinwheel.
  • Block should measure 9 ½ x 9 ½ inches
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