Here we go... another star quilt... But this one has teddy bears. So if you ask me the combo of bears + modern sawtooth stars = perfection. Oh, did I mention there are bunnies on the back. Hold on tight, because this Balsam Star Quilt is super cute and I'm ready to tell you all about it and how you can make one just like it.
The Balsam Star Quilt Pattern is a modern sawtooth star quilt pattern with two variations, which means you can make two different quilts from one pattern.
Isn't it frustrating when someone modifies a pattern but doesn't tell you how they did it and then leaves you guessing? The Balsam Star Quilt Pattern has the fabric requirements listed for both versions of the pattern and separate cutting and piecing directions so all the guess work is taken out!
One version uses fat quarters and makes a more scrappy variation with sashing and cornerstones. The other version is the one I used to make this quilt. It uses yardage and just a few accent colors. This gives the quilt a more modern look and keeps the focus more on the design of the quilt.
You can see the two versions below. I love them both because they both have their own flare and look. 
The pattern includes 5 sizes:
- Baby 38 in. x 38 in.
- Small Throw 51 in. x 64 in.
- Large Throw 64 in. x 77 in.
- Twin 77 in. x 90 in.
- Queen 90 in. x 103 in.
It's written for the advanced beginner quilter. So I wouldn't suggest this being your first quilt. If you have made a couple quilts and want to grow your skills then this is a great pattern for you.
This pattern includes sashing in between the blocks. It is important with the fat quarter version to make sure the sashing and cornerstones have accurate seams and the corners meet up correctly. Otherwise, the sashing in the quilt will not match up. The best way to do this is with pinning your seams to get accuracy and following the pressing directions in the pattern.
The pattern includes 4 at a time flying geese (some people call it the "no waste method". Flying geese can sometimes be a frustrating block for people. It's important to have an accurate seam allowance. I also suggest finding a way to accurately trim the flying geese in a way that you enjoy. It might mean buying a special ruler. I prefer using the Wing Clipper Ruler.
For this quilt I used directional fabric for the bears and one other fabric. If you want the fabric to all go the same direction then you will need to place the units in a special orientation when sewing the 4 at a time flying geese. To learn more about sewing sawtooth stars with directional fabrics read my tutorial here. There is also a downloadable version of the directions here.
How did I choose my fabrics for this quilt?
First, I have a big bolt of the blue background fabric which has been sitting collecting dust on my shelf. So I decided it was time to dig into it and use it as the background.
Next, since I was making the yardage version of the pattern I needed to look through my stash for pieces of fabric 3/8 yard or larger. It's common if I like a fabric I will buy a 1/2 yard of it to stash away for future use. So I had a lot of options to look through.
I found the Teddy and the Bears Fabric by Sarah Watts for Ruby Star Society in my stash. I immediately decided that the bears (golden rod color) had to be the focal point of the quilt. I mean those bears are so cute!
I had one more of the fabrics from the Teddy and the Bears line in my stash and kicked myself for not buying more. So obviously I had to add the second bear fabric to the quilt.
I then added 2 Stary fabrics which pulled colors from the other fabrics. Then, I decided the last fabric needed to have a white overall color to it to help balance out the white Teddy and the Bears fabric. So I found one more in my stash which is probably considered off white, but has navy blue designs on it.
So there we go. All from my stash, no visits to the fabric store required. 😊
This quilt is the small throw size and contains 5 different colors of stars. 2 of them provide a larger contrast with the dark blue fabric because they are mostly white fabric. I wanted to evenly space this fabric out in the quilt.
So I decided to place the pink first, then a white, then the golden bears in the middle, another white, and lastly the reddish/orange stars. This balanced out the colors in the quilt and placed the most interesting ones toward the middle. It also spaced out the 2 stars fabrics.
Do you see that backing fabric? Isn't it the cutest? It's from the line Hello Alice by Sarah Watts for Ruby Star Society. So yes, the same designer as those sweet bears on the front.
I quilted this myself with a zigzag stitch on my sewing machine. Most machines have this stitch on them. So even if you are a newer quilter, you should be able to at least experiment with a zigzag stitch. I suggest getting a walking foot to help the fabric not bunch. The lines on this are quilted 1 inch apart.
Since this is the small throw size it's a good size to quilt and baste, not too big and difficult to handle.
If you want more tips for sewing the Balsam Star Quilt Pattern see my blog post here.
