The Northwest Star Quilt Pattern

The Northwest Star Quilt Pattern is my all about starting with a sawtooth star and adding a bit of pizzazz to make a fun, modern pattern. I added a stripe in the middle and a four patch to the corners. It gives this classic quilt block a bit of a different look and allows you to incorporate lots of fabrics.

This pattern uses fat quarters and background fabric. So it's super easy to pick out a bundle and get sewing.

You can find a copy of the Northwest Star Quilt Pattern here.

 

This Northwest Star Quilt was my first ever! I am now on my 5th. It's such a fun pattern to make I just keep thinking of different bundles I want to sew up.

This quilt is a baby size. I made it just to see if I had the measurements correct. I wanted to make sure before I cut up any more fabric that I had all the right pieces figured out.

Turns out on this pattern all my math was correct. Yay me!

I had a spare bundle of fabric I had curated and brought from India. I used these fabrics plus a white fabric to make the quilt. I wasn't sure if they would be a little too much all combined together, but I really like it. I think the plain background makes it work.

Baby Sized Quilts

If you are a beginner quilter making a baby size quilt is a great way to dip your toe in and try new things. For instance, basting and quilting a baby quilt is much easier than say a twin size quilt.

The larger the quilt the harder it is to baste. It's easy to get puckers in your quilt if the basting isn't done well.

It's also much easier to quilt a small quilt on a regular sewing machine. The larger the quilt the more bulk you will have to pull through the machine as you quilt. This can become frustrating.

I sew with a Janome Memory Craft 8200 which has a larger throat for quilting. The throat of the machine is the empty space under the arm of the sewing machine. I have quilted a twin size, but prefer to send that size out to a long arm quilter because it's a lot of work, and they do a much better job.

All that to say, quilting on a beginner sewing machine would be frustrating if quilting a larger size.

You can see above I quilted this quilt with a diamond design which crosses itself. It's important with this design to keep your lines evenly spaced and the correct angle.

I started by first sewing vertically every 2 inches across the quilt all in one direction. I then turned the quilt 90 degrees and crossed those lines sewing every 2 inches to make a grid.

After this I used a Hera Marker and my long ruler to mark the 45 degree lines which intersect through the grids. I then sewed on the lines trying to make sure to go directly over each intersection.

Above you can see the basted quilt. Below you can see the quilt after I sewed the vertical and horizontal lines 2 inches apart.

After I sewed all 45 degree lines going one direction, I then turned the quilt and repeated drawing lines across the quilt at a 45 degree angle going the opposite direction.  I sewed on top of these lines making sure to sew across each intersection of lines. Also, I made sure to keep sewing all the way across in one direction.

Above you can see my Hera marker isn't a marker at all. It does mark the fabric by leaving a small crease which disappears quickly.

Past Mistakes

When quilting this design before, I once sewed the 45 degree lines first. I used my guide on my machine to keep my lines straight. However, it's easy as we quilt to slowly have our lines go off course. I learned the hard way when I went to quilt the vertical and horizontal lines that my points and angles didn't match up. They were all slightly off. So I had to take all the quilting out and start over.

Always quilt the vertical and horizontal lines first to make a grid first!

Another thing I have learned quilting over the years is to always quilt one direction across your quilt. I know when the quilt starts getting bulky in the throat of your machine it's tempting to flip the quilt. However, when you switch part way through, your fabric can be pulled the opposite direction and leave a ripple type of look. Nobody wants that!

I always suggest using a walking foot with quilting. It makes a world of difference with preventing puckering and keeping the layers together. Look up which kind will fit your machine.

Lastly, don't beat yourself up for not having a perfect quilt top. Not all the lines are perfectly straight in this quilt. I see all the intersections which don't line up. We are all our own worst critic. Be proud of yourself for learning something new.

Get your copy of the Northwest Stars Quilt Pattern below and share your quilting journey with us!

This blogpost may contain affiliate links from which I may get a percentage of purchases.