Tips For Making Lone Star Quilts And Choosing Colors

 The progress on the Lone Star quilt is slow going.  I try my best to get all my errands done in one day but the last couple of weeks I've had to go out almost everyday. Today I'm staying in my jammies and ignoring the phone. 

In my last post I received a comment about color placement for lone stars.  That is a hard question for me to answer.  

It really all boils down to your style and color preferences.  The Lone Stars I've been making were not my color idea. Years ago I saw this colorway on Diane's Native American Quilts website and thought it was beautiful.  The quilt below is not mine, it was my inspiration found on Diane's website but I couldn't find it again to link to it.

I also purchased her book to make my first Lone Star quilt about 12 years.  Her book is not written in the typical quilters lingo and was hard for me to wrap my mind around but I did it and still use this book as my reference for making a Lone Star.

  My best advice to anyone wanting to make a Lone Star is to first think about what colors you want in the a quilt and then google.  Lets say you want to make one that is purple and yellow.  Then that's what you will Google....Purple and Yellow Lone Star Quilts.  Another good place to search is Pinterest.  Just do the same search in the search box on Pinterest. 

  Here's a link to my Lone Star Quilt Pinterest Board.  There's over 100 quilts saved.  Many are Native American but there's also some so called normal Lone Stars.  

Another option to help you decide colors is search for Lone Star Quilt Coloring Pages.  Print out as many as you need and color until you find what you like. 

When it comes to actually making a Lone Star you first need to decided the pattern you will use.  Diane's book uses the inset corners and triangles.  The video below about inset seams.

If you would prefer not to do inset seams then you will need to find a pattern that makes things a little easier by cutting those inset sections into two pieces.  Many quilters find this to be easier.  I just see it as more cutting and more sewing.  But to each their own.  Whatever works best for you is the best way to do it!  Watch the video below for this method.  Donna pieces the star one diamond at a time.  I strip piece mine instead of cutting and piecing a bunch of diamonds. The good thing is the video has a link to a free pattern!

 I made a tutorial a few years ago with tips and tricks for making a Lone Star.  They can get wonky really easy due to the bias cuts.  I still cut them the same way but I've changed my markings to the back of the quilt instead of the front.  You can see my markings below under the stitches.  These marks are for pinning.  You can find my tutorial here.

With the last 5 Lone Stars I have been using Frixxon pens and Water Soluble pencil for marking.

I found this white water soluble white pencil at Hobby Lobby.  I was leery about it but it works great.  It stayed on the quilt until I sprayed it away.  But if you handle it a lot it will wear away.  I'm very mindful to not over handle a Lone Star.  They will stretch out of shape very easily and then it's hard to get them back into shape.

In the tutorial I also talk about ironing/pressing.  In the tutorial I pressed the strip sets to the side.  Now I press open using a seam roller.  After the top is complete I use my iron and a light hand to press...NEVER IRONING.  And by all means avoid finger pressing, it too will stretch the quilt pieces out of shape.

Are my seams perfect?  Well heavens no!  But they are close enough.  

Lone Stars are not hard to make and come together pretty quickly.  Seriously!  There's not that many pieces in one of these.  I've made quilts with thousands of pieces.  This Lone Star quilt top only has 304 pieces.  That includes the borders but not the backing and binding.  The one I'm making right now will be exactly like this one but it will have a different color border.  Maybe yellow or orange.  Which color do you think I should use instead of red?  Leave a comment below.

Until next time...

I hope you find time to stitch up something sweet!

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