Free Pattern - Half-Square Triangle Star Quilt

I'm so excited - we have such a cool guest writer today! Lindlee Smith is here sharing a fresh modern take on a traditional giant star quilt. She's sharing a tutorial and free pattern for making a half-square-triangle quilt called Auntie's Star. Read on for all of the details!

My name is Lindlee Smith and I am the one-woman operation behind Plains and Pine where I’ve been designing modern star quilt patterns for the last year and am currently working on an online workshop for my original quilt pattern - the Big Sky Star quilt. When I’m not working on quilt things, you can find me with my toddler, husband, and dog. And when there’s not snow on the ground you can also find me digging in my garden.

I am excited to share this free pattern with you all today!

Last year I was paging through my Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns by Barbara Brackman and I stumbled across the Aunt Rachel’s Star block - a block that was published in Women’s Day magazine in the 1940s. It was love at first sight. It’s everything I love in a quilt pattern - classic, bold…and a star. 

After a quick Google search with no pattern results, I decided I needed to design a pattern to share with the world. So I set out to design a throw size quilt based on a single Aunt Rachel’s Star block. I decided on the name “Auntie’s Star” to stay true to the original quilt inspiration while choosing a name that is general enough so you could think of your favorite Aunt (or Aunts) when making this quilt. I am lucky to have many favorites! 

Get the FREE pattern here!

This quilt is made up entirely of Half-Square Triangles (HSTs), triangles, and background fabric.

Check pattern for fabric requirements and cutting instructions.

My Star fabrics are Kona Evergreen and Kona Natural (with an extra pop in one of red from my stash in one HST… just for fun). The background fabric is Studio E Peppered Cotton in Stonewash. 

I wrote the pattern with the 8 HSTs at a time method. 

Once your 10.5” squares are cut, place the light colored fabric on top of the darker fabric.

With a pencil or other marking tool, draw 2 diagonal lines from each corner, one horizontal line, and one vertical line.

Insert a couple pins to keep the fabric from shifting while sewing.

Sew a seam ¼” away from each side of the diagonal lines, 

press the fabric, then cut along all the lines.

Press seams toward the darker fabric.

Trim and square up each HST to 4.5” x 4.5"

Once all HSTs are trimmed, you will arrange them in 4 identical quadrants as shown in the pattern.

There is also a video tutorial for making multiple HST's at once here.

Get the FREE printable pattern here.

To form a quadrant, HSTs are first sewn into rows, then one square unit and 2 triangle units. Then background fabric is sewn to those units and then sewn together to form one quadrant. 

The quilt comes together quickly at this point by simply sewing the 4 quadrants together. And that’s it! Step back and enjoy your beautiful creation. I would love to see the version you make so please share a photo of your quilt with the hashtags: #auntiesstarquilt and #plainsandpinepatterns.

I love the look of tied quilts, so I decided to tie this one with bright red yarn at the center of each HST. To give it a little extra interest, I also hand quilted one line around the outside of the star. I chose Kona Flame for the binding to complement the red ties. It is my version of a Christmas quilt (that I can feel good about using year round!).

I wanted to leave you with more inspiration, so I’m sharing two more beautiful versions.

The first is by Daphne (on Instagram @octopurse). Daphne is an amazingly talented quilter and hand-quilter. I am blown away by everything she makes.

The next version is by Lynn (on Instagram @lynncycle). Lynn made this beautiful, two-tone version for her husband which just makes my heart happy!

If you have any questions on the pattern, do not hesitate to reach out! You can email me at [email protected] or send me a DM on Instagram @plainsandpine. 

Thank you so much for sharing such a beautiful quilt pattern, Lindlee! I'm dying to make one myself now.

I am so inspired by Lindee's fresh, modern take on classic quilt designs. Plus I'm always a sucker for giant stars. I've had a Lone Star quilt on my list forever - I think she's inspired to try one of those too! 

You can see more of Lindlee's beautiful work on her website Plains and Pine or follow her on Instagram.

 If you missed it, you can access the FREE pattern here and it will be sent directly to your email inbox.