Thursday, January 24, 2013

8 Point LeMoyne Star Tutorial - No Y Seams!

Tuesday I attended my first meeting with a local quilt group called Boulder City Cut-Ups. This was actually the first time I have ever packed up my machine (purchased in about 92) to sew outside my home. I felt very welcomed, and although it was well attended, plenty of space was made for me. We were instructed to bring some red, white, and blue fabrics for this month's project. Mary Lou demonstrated for us a technique for the LeMoyne Star with no inset seams. Gotta Love it!

Food for thought before we begin: For this block, I used dark thread for stitch visibility, however I probably would have anyway. For dark stars, I usually do use dark thread. If any seams were to show their threads on this type of block, it is most likely to happen in the center of the dark star where a white thread would really pop out. This to me is a bigger risk than the thread showing through the seam of the white...

Here is how it was done:


For an 8in star, cut the following:
8 pieces of white background 2 7/8" x 4 1/2"
8 pieces of white background 2 1/8" square
4 pieces red for star 2 1/8" x 4 1/2"
4 pieces blue for star 2 1/8" x 4 1/2"
Draw a pencil line on the backside of each white square

Right sides together, sew four of them one direction, and four of them the other. To accommodate for the fold, stitch just to the outside of the drawn line, toward the side that will be cut off. Press the seams of the red Nevada shapes toward the white side, and the seam of the blue Reverse-Nevada shapes toward the blue side.
Right sides together, sew the large white rectangles to the red Nevada shapes and press toward NV.
Sew Reverse-Nevada as shown and press seam toward rectangles.
Draw a pencil line diagonally across the backside of the reverse NV shapes.
Right sides together, stack the blue sets on top of the red sets, matching seams so that they nestle together where they intersect. Sew just to the right of the pencil line, like the one in upper left corner. Cut off the excess and press seam the same direction the others are on that block.
Stitch the four units into two, matching seams. Press seams in the same direction on each side.
I use a pin through center of stars points to use as pivot point.
Line up the two pieces and sew your last seam!
 Clip 3/4 of the way in toward center point
Press seams flat and trim block to 8.5"
Repeat as many times as desired!
 
 
 
 


13 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for the tutorial! I am working on a quilt called Nearly Insane, and the Lemoyne Star blocks are truly the ones that drive me insane. I did a couple with the traditional Y-seams, but now I need a 6" block with 4 even smaller Lemoyne Stars, and I knew I needed an easier method. I was sure someone could show me how - now all I need to do is translate the dimensions (which won't drive me as insane as the Y-seams). Thanks again!

    ReplyDelete
  2. @Ann

    For a 6" block cut:
    8 pcs 2.25" x 3.5"
    8 pcs 1.75" square
    8 pcs 1.75" x 3.5" (4 of ea color)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How do you figure the cut size for your pieces? I need a 3 1/2” finished block.

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  3. Can someone tell me the measurements for a 12 inch block please?
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just played with it and found dimensions that work with this method. For a 12.5" finish, cut the following:
      8 background pieces 3 5/8" x 6.5"
      8 background squares 3 1/2"
      8 star pieces 3 1/2" x 6 1/5"

      Note: The bigger the block, the more fabric is wasted with this method. If only a few blocks are needed, this may not be a big deal to you, however if a large quilt is made with blocks of this method, you may want to consider using templates to cut the actual fabric that will be used!

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  4. I would like the 12 inch block measurements, too, if possible.
    Thanks!!

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  5. i love it i'm gonna try it . thanks

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  6. Thank you ladies i am going to try this looks great

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  7. Where can I buy a printed copy?

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  8. Does anyone have the measurements for a 10" block please

    dea

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  9. Hi, I have been drafting and drafting for days. No matter what, I cannot figure out how to get a finished 18" block. I need it to be 18.5 unfinished. Can anyone help me with the measurements? Thank you.

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  10. Thank you thank you thank you thank you! :-)

    ReplyDelete

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