Let's discuss how to make a basic sawtooth star pillow with a four patch in the middle. I just made one this weekend. It was fast. I used scraps and my girls love it. So I would say it was an all around success. It's a great block for beginner quilters to make. Let's dive in.
First, grab a pillow or order a pillow insert. I had one laying around waiting for a pillow cover. I didn't even measure it before I started sewing.
I had recently sewn a quilt top and had a pile of scraps left so I decided to use these colors and fabrics for my pillow.
Here are the pieces you will need:
I did not list the measurements above because you can decide how large or small you want your block to be. Just make sure that each unit is the same size when trimmed. I happened to use 4 1/2 in. x 4 1/2 in. squares so that is the example I will use below.
To make the half square triangles (HSTs) start with units 1/2 in. larger than the size you want to finish at. Let me explain below.
After all your HSTs are trimmed lay out the units into the correct order. Sew into rows and press each row in alternating directions.
My block finished at 16 1/2 in. x 16 1/2 in. But my pillow was larger than that. You can tell by the photos below.
So I added a 2 1/2 in. border around the outside of the block. Then, I could trim it down if I needed.
The only picture I got was blurry. 🫣 I'm so disappointed. I used the envelope method to finish this pillow. You can read about how to do that in another blog post here.
