Sunrise Star is my modern quilt pattern featuring the traditional sawtooth star quilt block inside a cross. This pattern has two variations, one of which is fat quarter friendly and a bit more scrappy looking. Today I am sharing about the other version which uses yardage to create a more simplified looking quilt.
I have made the Sunrise Star Quilt three times and each time I make it I love it just as much as the last. This time is no exception.
Get a copy of the Sunrise Star Quilt Pattern here.
The first time I made the Sunrise Star I used an ombre look by using three different shades of the same color as the main fabrics (see it here). The second time I went all scrappy and used fat quarters (see it here). This time I decided to use accent fabrics that contrast to make the design of the quilt pop out.
I spent a lot of time trying to decide which colors I wanted to use. I'm not great with choosing colors, so I downloaded some color swatches from Art Gallery Fabrics Pure Solids line and started playing around.
Here is what I decided on:
Background fabric - Coconut Milk
Sawtooth Star - Summer Sun
Cross - Verve Violet
Extension of star - Rock Candy
Corner accents - Aero BlueThese colors all looked good together to me because they all looked a little more muted, but showed off the design of each block well. The Coconut Milk background fabric is a beautiful off white which goes so well with the other colors. I was very happy with my choices.
About the Pattern
I had someone recently reach out on Instagram and say that they thought the pattern looked so complicated. And I'm here to tell you it really isn't! The Sunrise Star Quilt Pattern is for the advanced beginner quilter. There are no hard elements in this pattern.
I will say however, this is not a fast make. Several of my quilts are a quick quilt to sew, this isn't one of them. There are several different units to sew for each block, for this reason it takes longer to make the quilt.
Sunrise Star has four sizes included in the pattern:
Baby 42 in. x 42 in.
Throw 56 in. x 70 in.
Twin 70 in. x 84 in.
Queen 98 in. x 112 in.This quilt is a twin size, which will be going on my little girl's bed.
If you are a beginner quilter who is looking to grow your skills the Sunrise Star Pattern is a great way to do that. Elements you will practice in this quilt pattern include flying geese, snow balling corners and half square triangles.
If you are new to quilting, I have a tutorial for how to trim flying geese here.
More about this Quilt
As I said this quilt is a twin and is for my daughter's bed. I chose a flannel backing for this quilt to make is extra soft and cozy for her. If you haven't quilted with flannel yet it's very easy to quilt with. Unlike minky, which can stretch and shift flannel, doesn't move around.
Although none of my fabrics were prewashed for the quilt top, I did prewash the flannel. Flannel can shrink. I honestly have heard some people say to prewash and some say you don't need to. I just decided to be safe and prewash.
When piecing the backing I also used a 1/2 inch seam to give a little extra wiggle room for shrinkage or fraying.
I don't mind quilting my own quilts. However, I get burned out on it. When I live in India I quilt all my own quilts. When I visit the US I prefer to spoil myself and send my quilts out. It's nice because it saves me time and they come back so beautiful!
I really don't love quilting twin size or larger. It gets hard to pull the quilt through the machine keep lines straight when the quilt is that large. So I sent this quilt out to be quilted by Kait from Knot and Thread Design. She does all my quilts and does an excellent job!
She helped me choose the panto (quilting design) for this quilt. My daughter loved it because it has flowers incorporated. We used an off white thread so it would blend in with the quilt top.
This quilt is sure to get lots of snuggles in the coming years and I can't wait.
Make sure to get your copy of the Sunrise Star Quilt Pattern and get quilting!
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