Framed Patchwork Star Baby Size Quilt

I've got a bright and cheerful quilt to share with you today! This Framed Patchwork Star Quilt was so fun to make and I pulled all the fabrics right from my stash. It's my new favorite baby sized quilt.

The Framed Patchwork Star is my modern quilt pattern that features a patchwork star in the center, which expands outward in different star variations.  The quilt incorporates eight different fabrics and three accent fabrics which create a sort of color explosion as the quilt expands.

You can find a copy of the Framed Patchwork Star Quilt Pattern in my shop.

This quilt pattern design first started in 2022 as a mini quilt for the 12 Minis in 12 Month sew along. I designed the center of this quilt for the mini quilt pattern. The mini quilt pattern is called the Patchwork Star Mini and you can get a copy of it here.

As I imagined turning the mini quilt pattern into a full size quilt pattern, I didn't want to just make that little block over and over. I wanted to make something different.

It took me a bit of playing around with designs on my computer before I landed on what is now the Framed Patchwork Star Quilt Pattern.

I thought it would be easy to turn the mini quilt pattern into a full sized quilt pattern, but for some reason it wasn't! This pattern hurt my brain. I think it was difficult to write because all of the measurements build off of each other. Plus, I needed to convert them into three sizes.

I almost gave up on this pattern a couple times. But I like it too much. LOL! Enough about me, let's get to the pattern.

About the Pattern and Fabric Choice

The Framed Patchwork Star uses eight different fabrics (Fabric A) for the bulk of the piecing and three accent fabrics (Fabrics B, C and D) which create three of the frames. The majority of the quilt is made up of background fabric with those eleven fabrics dispersed throughout.


When I chose the fabric for this baby version I first picked out the eight fabrics which make up the center of the star. I wanted to make sure these really went well together and that I would like them throughout the quilt.

Next, I chose the three accent fabrics. Since I was pulling all from my stash I had to make sure that the fabrics I pulled had enough yardage for the quilt pattern. That was pretty easy with the baby size, because the quilt doesn't require large amounts of fabrics.



Although the accent fabrics are different from the Fabric A fabrics, they still go with the other fabrics. In this case, they were still bright, bold colors with small designs on them. So even though these are accent fabrics, they still should go well with your other fabrics.

If you know me then you can guess that I would choose bright and cheery fabrics for the whole quilt. I was a little worried the quilt would look a little clownish, but I don't think it does. I think it looks like a ray of sunshine.

More about this pattern...

The Framed Patchwork Star is a bit of a mouthful, but literally every other star quilt pattern name I thought of was already taken. So a friend suggested this name. It describes the quilt well, so I decided to go with it.

The pattern has three sizes:

• Baby (41 in. x 41 in.)

• Throw (66 in. x 66 in.)

• Bed (93 in. x 93 in.)

This pattern is for the advanced beginner quilter. There are several points in this quilt that you must have a consistent 1/4 inch seam allowance or the points will be off. For this reason, I would not suggest it for a brand new quilter. But the elements in the quilt are not too difficult. If you are a confident quilter who can sew a consistent 1/4 inch seam then I think this pattern is a great fit.

Sewing Tips for this Quilt Pattern

The Framed Patchwork Star Quilt Pattern uses the two at a time half square triangle method. If you struggle with HSTs (meaning you don't have quite enough room to trim them perfectly), you can always cut your squares 1/4 inch larger than the pattern calls for before sewing the HSTs (make sure you get a little extra fabric so you don't run out). This means after sewing the HSTs you will have a little more wiggle room when trimming. I personally prefer this myself, although I forget to do it! But it adds a little more space on the sides for trimming a clean and perfect HST.

When sewing a quilt like this that continues to add onto itself, it's important to pin each row well before sewing it on. I like to find the center of each row and the side I am sewing it to and pinning that first. If you don't pin when sewing on these long strips sometimes the measurements can get off and quilt will be a bit "wonky" or uneven. Yes, I know, it's a very technical term. LOL! But just use pins with those long strips.

I think this could be a very fun pattern to make scrappy, especially the outer boarder that is all squares. You can use scraps to get all the cuts necessary for the quilt, or you could just choose some of the fabrics to sub in scraps for. For instance, I could make this version following all the fabric requirements, but use my scrap bin to get the necessary cuts for Fabric A.

 
About this Quilt

I chose all the fabrics for this quilt from my fabric cabinet. Most of the fabrics for the baby size only require a fat 8th. So it was easy to find fabric that fit those requirements.

After I chose Fabrics A, B, C and D, I then pulled out possible background fabrics. Different whites have different tints to them. Some tend toward a yellow tint and some more toward a blue. I chose the white that I liked the best with these fabrics.

For the backing fabric I chose some cat fabric I had in my stash. The green fabric goes well with the front and I pieced a strip of hot pink checked fabric into the backing to make it large enough.



I love basting and quilting baby sized quilts because they are so easy! It took only 15 minutes to baste this quilt on my kitchen table.

I like to spray baste because I feel like there is less shifting as I quilt. I have only used Odif 505 Temporary Adhesive Spray. It sprays smoothly from the can and I have no problems with it over spraying. I spray baste on my kitchen table and don't have any problems with sticky messes after. I just make sure to turn off the ceiling fan first.

I decided to use a stitch I had never tried before in a quilt. It's a zigzag stitch. I tried it out first on a small quilt sandwich scrap to see how it would look and if I needed to adjust the tensions. I suggest doing this before you ever start any quilting on a quilt. It can save time and mistakes.

The quilting turned out so cute! It added to the happy fun look of the quilt.

I used the left over Fabric D for the binding. I like the contrast between the binding and the edge of the quilt.

The Framed Patchwork Star is a great modern quilt pattern to incorporate your favorite colors and fabrics. If you are a newer quilter then go slow and make sure your seam allowances are consistent and your pressing is done well.

Click here for a free coloring sheet of the Framed Patchwork Star. That way you can dream up your own version.

Buy a copy of the Framed Patchwork Star pattern today!

This post contains affiliate links from which I may receive a percentage of purchases made from the links.