Turn Charm Packs into a Sawtooth Star Quilt Block

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Sawtooth star quilt blocks are probably my most favorite block of all. They’re easy to make and there’s something about a 6-pointed star block that makes it look cute with any design. I made an entire quilt using sawtooth star blocks and it’s probably my favorite one to date.

Here are a few of the blocks. As you can probably tell, I love scrappy fabrics!

A sawtooth star block is also referred to as a Morning Star, North Star or Variable Star block. Whatever you call it, this block is one of the most versatile ones you can make.

Today I’m showing you how to make a sawtooth star quilt block using nothing but charm pack fabric. This is a wonderful way to use charm squares and even mini charm packs. Now, you certainly don’t have to use charm packs to make this quilt block. In fact, you’ll have less fabric waste if you cut your fabric to size from a larger piece instead of using precut squares. However, I wanted to do a tutorial showing you that it’s possible to make a sawtooth star using nothing but precut fabric.

I’m someone who buys a lot of precut fabric, so I’m always looking for creative ways to use it beyond making patchwork squares. I buy precuts because they’re easy to use (less cutting!) but also because they’re more economical for me. I would love to buy a fat quarter bundle of all my favorite fabrics — but I can’t afford it.

Buying charm packs and mini charms lets me try tons of new fabric without spending too much money. The pieces are small, yes, but I still get to enjoy all the patterns and colors.

If you have tons of charm packs lying around and don’t know what to do with them, I hope you’ll have fun making this star quilt block with me!

Supplies for Making a Charm Pack Sawtooth Star

For this quilt block, you need six pieces of charm pack fabric. Three of these will be your background color and three will be used to make the star. I like using fabrics with a lot of contrast so the star really pops. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t use scrappy fabric. In fact, I almost never use matching fabrics for all my pieces. Instead, I like the scrappy look of combining different patterns from the same color palette.

In addition to charm squares, you also need sewing basics such as:

• Rotary cutter, cutting mat, and ruler (this is a nice set)
• Fabric scissors, if not using a rotary cutter
• Sewing machine and thread (my favorite budget brand)
• Iron and ironing board

Designing Your Star Quilt Block

My favorite part of making a quilt block is picking out the fabric. You can use any colors you want, but to make the star pop, make sure there’s enough contrast. With that being said, there are tons of ways to get creative. Here are a few layout ideas for inspiration.

It’s fun experimenting with dark or light fabric for the star/background and playing around with different colored star points. I usually use high-contrast fabrics but you can get stunning results with low-contrast colors as well.

How to Cut Fabric for a Sawtooth Star

One of the wonderful things about sawtooth star blocks is that you can make them pretty much any size depending on how you cut the fabric. Because we’re using precut fabric for this tutorial, you can’t really adjust the size (unless you want to make it smaller). When using charm packs, the finished size of your quilt block will be an 8″ square.

With charm packs, you will cut your fabric like this:

For the center of the star (main fabric): Cut 1/2″ off two of the sides of one charm square to create a square that measures 4.5″.

For the star points (main fabric): Cut two charm squares down the middle in both directions to create 8 small squares that each measure 2.5″.

For the corners of the block (background fabric): Cut one charm square down the middle in both directions to create 4 small squares that each measure 2.5″.

For the background of the flying geese: Cut 1/2″ off one edge of the fabric. Then, cut the fabric in half across the middle (perpendicular to the edge you just cut) to create 4 pieces of fabric that each measure 2.5″ tall by 4.5″ wide.

Making Flying Geese for a Sawtooth Star Block

Now that you have all your pieces cut, you will start by making a type of block called “flying geese.” If you’ve never made these before, they’re a great block to know how to make. Many quilt blocks use flying geese in their design.

For each flying geese block, you will need two 2.5″ squares of your main fabric and one 2.5 x 4.5″ rectangle of background fabric. We will be making a total of four flying geese blocks.

1. Start by tracing a 45 degree angle line across the backs of all your squares that will be used for the star points. I like to do this by laying my fabrics out on my cutting mat and lining a ruler up across the backs. You can trace in one long line across the backs of the squares. This step gives you a nice, neat stitching guide for when you start sewing.
2. Lay one square right-sides together on top of a rectangle. The square will be lined up along three edges of the rectangle and will cover slightly more than half of the rectangle.
3. Stitch on top of your traced line from point to point of the square.
4. Using a rotary cutter or scissors, cut off the corner of fabric 1/4″ away from your stitching line.
5. Press the fabric towards the corner so the block lays flat.
6. Lay another square right-sides-together covering the other half of the rectangle. This square should overlap with the tip of the other fabric you just sewed.
7. Stitch the fabrics together along the traced line. Keep in mind that at the tip of the other triangle, you will be stitching through all the layers.
8. Press the seam towards the corner so the block lays flat.

Assembling Strips for Your Quilt Block

Now that we have four flying geese, we will use them to make strips that we will sew together in the final step. You will need your corner pieces, center piece, and the flying geese you just made.

1. Lay one corner piece right-side-together with a flying geese block. Sew the pieces together with a 1/4″ seam allowance.
2. Lay another corner piece right-sides-together with the opposite end of the flying geese block. Sew with a 1/4″ seam allowance.
3. Press the seams towards the corner pieces.
4. Repeat steps 1-3 once more to make one identical strip.
5. Take your center square and lay it right-sides together with one of the flying geese. Make sure you’re lining up the edge of the flying geese block that matches the center square (when finished the points of the star should be pointed away from the center block). Sew with a 1/4″ seam allowance.
6. Take your remaining flying geese block and lay it right-sides-together with the center block. Again, make sure you’re sewing the edge that matches the center square. Sew with a 1/4″ seam allowance.
7. Lastly, press the fabric away from the center block (towards the flying geese).

Final Block Assembly

You should now have three strips of fabric and the last step is to sew them together.

1. Lay one of the flying geese strips right-sides-together with the center block. Make sure you’re lining up the edge that matches the center block. Sew with a 1/4″ seam allowance.
2. Lay the other flying geese strip right-sides-together along the opposite edge of the center block. Again, make sure you’re lining up the edge that matches the center block. Sew with a 1/4″ seam allowance.
3. Press the seams away from the center block, or whichever direction your seam allowances naturally want to lay in.

Now you’re done! I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and found an inspiring new way to use charm packs. There is a little bit more fabric waste when using charm packs compared to cutting your fabric out from a larger piece. However, I find this is a great way to use charm packs and play around with new fabrics.

I’d love to see how your project turned out. Share it with me on social media by tagging @craftingwithclementine or using #craftingwithclementine so I can see what you made!