You can find Mismatched Stars and Stripes here.

Mismatched Stars and Stripes is a modern quilt pattern inspired by United States of America's Independence Day. This pattern combines the tradition with the modern by using a sawtooth star and an uneven stripe.

I love this quilt pattern because it's relatively fast, especially after you finish all those sawtooth stars.

Flying Geese

Mismatched Stars and Stripes is just that, it's supposed to have a bit of a lopsided mismatched look to it. That's what makes it fun and modern.

I wanted to gear this pattern to the beginner quilter. For this reason the sawtooth stars are made using the stitch and flip method.

Usually I would suggest using the four at a time method when making flying geese for a sawtooth star. However, I think for a beginner quilter the stitch and flip method is easier.

Although this method might seem slower, there isn't the trimming on the back end. For this reason, I think neither way is necessarily a lot faster than the other.

Striped Blocks

The striped blocks are made using strip piecing. This makes these blocks go super fast. In fact, I like to randomly piece them.

The key to these is maintaining a 1/4 inch seam and pressing well.

More about the Pattern

Mismatched Stars and Stripes is loosely inspired by the American flag. I wanted a star and some stripes in my quilt in a very nontraditional sense. This pattern is a great quilt design for summer or picnics!

The pattern includes 3 sizes:

• Baby (32 in. x 40 in.)

• Throw (48 in. x 64 in.)

• Twin (72 in. x 96 in.)

Mismatched Stars and Stripes is beginner friendly. However, I don't suggest this for your first quilt. You might find some frustration with the flying geese for the stars.

Being able to sew a consistent 1/4 inch seam is important.

Mismatched Stars and Stripes is fat quarter friendly. I used a curated bundle by another quilter for this version, or you could easily grab some fat quarters from your stash.

One very unique thing about this modern quilt pattern is that not only is it fat quarter friendly, but it's also 2 1/2 in. precut friendly also. The background fabric in this version of the Mismatched Stars and Stripes Quilt Pattern can be swapped out for a precut.

Moda sells a 2 1/2 in. wide precut called a Jelly Roll. You can find some Jelly Rolls here.

See a version of the Mismatched Stars and Stripes Quilt Pattern using a 2 1/2 in. precut here.

About This Quilt

This quilt was made using a curated bundle. The bundle combines solids and patterned fabrics. The patterned fabrics are all Ruby Star Society Fabrics.

I loved the colors of this bundle and how it combined solids and prints. It is also so cheerful. I used a print from the Speckled line by Ruby Star Society for the background fabric. The color is called Metallic White Gold which I love! But I have a hard time finding now. It adds just the right amount of sparkly in the background without distracting away from the design of the quilt.

I just want to stop for a second and give a shout out to Rashida Coleman-Hale from Ruby Star Society for creating the Speckled collection. This is a great blender collection, but also works as background fabric or as a focal fabric. 

When I sewed the blocks for this quilt I made too many. I'm not quite sure what happened. I must not have counted, although I remember counting several times. Maybe I just wasn't think clearly.

Anyway, I had several stars left over. I wasn't going to throw them away. So I decided to sew them into the backing of the quilt along with some extra fat quarters I had lying around. I love the background just as much as I love the front of the quilt.

I think the backing turned out a little funky and fun.

The quilt was finished by sending it to Kaitlyn from Knot and Thread Design for some long arm quilting. I usually have a hard time deciding which pattern I want her to quilt. Kaitlyn is great at helping make the decision. We decided to go with Baptist Fan on this and I really like it. It's such a great classic design.


When I sewed up this quilt top we were staying with a friend in Georgia. Then, the lockdown happened and we decided to head back to Oregon where we had a more long term living situation in a more rural area to wait out the pandemic. We didn't want to fly with the kids and risk getting infected so we decided to drive across the country, in two minivans.

Kaitlyn was sweet enough to mail this quilt to our friend's house in Las Vegas where we were staying with friends for a couple nights during our trip. I was able to take some fun shots of it on the last leg of our trip.

 

This Mismatched Stars and Stripes quilt is the throw size. I know some people like their throws a little bigger than this pattern's throw size. If this is you, then add a couple more fat quarters and background yardage. Then, just add a row or two on whichever side you want.

Or you can make the twin size, and take off a row from each side. There are many options with this quilt. I can't wait to make another for summer.

Don't forget to get a pattern and get sewing.