Wonky Star Retirement Quilt Tutorial


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Bear Creek Quilting Company

2023 Maywood Studio Maker
I am a 2023 Maywood Studio Maker!
Posted by Shari on May 10th, 2015

Wonky Star Retirement Quilt Tutorial
Hi!  I am Rachel from Around the Blocks blog and I am thrilled to get the opportunity to share this special quilt with you.  Special thanks to Bear Creek Quilting Company for sponsoring this project and allowing me to share the tutorial.

Wonky Star Retirement Quilt – used for a retirement quilt but can be used for Weddings, Going Away, Welcome Home for a soldier, or to Welcome a New Baby through birth or adoption.

I scoured the web trying to find a pattern to use my signed blocks my co-workers gave me when I retired last year.  I couldn’t find just the right pattern so I came up with this one.

Wonky Star Retirement Quilt Tutorial
Quilt measures 67 1/2 inches by 77 1/2 inches.

Fabric needed:
  • 32 signed neutral 5” square blocks

  • 202 additional neutral 5” square blocks (enough of each to make 234)

  • 20 solid color Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton solids for stars

  • 5 yards of  Benartex Felicity in Diamond Aqua for backing

  • 1 yard of  Benartex Felicity in Stripe Teal for binding

Wonky Star Retirement Quilt Tutorial

I started this quilt with 32 five inch squares of muslin that my coworkers had signed for me as a retirement gift, knowing I was a quilter.  I cut an additional 202 five inch blocks in whites and creams.  These are used for the background and with the star points.

My stars were made from the Robert Kaufman 2014 Kona Cotton collection fat quarter pack.  I used twenty of the bright colors for the wonky stars.

To begin, cut FIVE - 5 inch squares from each colored fat quarter.  Split four of them diagonally to use for the star points.

Wonky Star Retirement Quilt Tutorial

To make the stars, lay one colored five inch square in the center and lay out the four neutral 5 inch squares along each side.

Wonky Star Retirement Quilt Tutorial

Place one of the cut colored square diagonal pieces along the corner of each white square to make the points.

Sew along the long edge as shown.

Wonky Star Retirement Quilt Tutorial

Cut off the excess neutral fabric to the right of the 1/4 inch seam line.

Wonky Star Retirement Quilt Tutorial
 
Wonky Star Retirement Quilt Tutorial

Press open and square up to 5 inches, cutting the excess off the two sides of the star point.

Wonky Star Retirement Quilt Tutorial

Repeat for the other star point.  To make the points wonky, vary the position of each point.

Wonky Star Retirement Quilt Tutorial

Repeat the same process of cutting and squaring up.

Wonky Star Retirement Quilt Tutorial

Do this process for the four sets of points for each star.

Position the 5 inch squares, with the completed star points, to determine the final layout.  You may want to add some of the signed squares into the corners of the star blocks as I did on mine.  Randomly vary the whites and cream background blocks for more movement in the quilt.

Wonky Star Retirement Quilt Tutorial

Once you determine the final layout, begin sewing the rows together. I prefer to sew rows vertically so I can chain piece them.

Wonky Star Retirement Quilt Tutorial

For the backing, I used the fun Benartex print and added a section of a t-shirt I had from a work safety day.  Be sure and add some type of label to your quilt to commemorate the event.

Wonky Star Retirement Quilt Tutorial

I like to use stripe bindings and the Benartex Felicity Stripe Teal worked well with this quilt to give it a little punch.

Wonky Star Retirement Quilt Tutorial
 
Wonky Star Retirement Quilt Tutorial
 
Wonky Star Retirement Quilt Tutorial

I quilted mine on a long arm machine using a simple pantograph.  This quilt could also be quilted on a tabletop machine using straight or curved horizontal stitching or another method of your choosing.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial and are inspired to make a keepsake quilt for yourself or a friend for a special occasion.

Rachel at Around the Blocks
"Wonky Star Retirement Quilt" Tutorial instructions can be printed here.
"Wonky Star Retirement Quilt" Tutorial was designed and created for Bear Creek Quilting Company by Rachel from Around the Blocks.
Fabric used in this tutorial is from Kona Cotton Solids  by Robert Kaufman Fabrics and Felicity  by Benartex.
Do you love free fabric?  Do you love to teach?  Want to be a contributor on our blog?  Send us an email at web@bearcreekquiltingcompany.com to get started!
 
Category: Tutorials

Comments

  • 1. Posted by Paige on May 13th, 2015 at 5:50 p.m.
    Wow, what a great idea! Thank you for the tutorial and Happy Retirement!
  • 2. Posted by Rein G on May 13th, 2015 at 10:02 a.m.
    That is a really great idea - thanks for the tutorial - totally makes sense to me - so I think I will try a smaller version as a test.