Mercantile Sampler Sew Along - Week One - Angel Star Block!!

"ANGEL STAR BLOCK"

Welcome back to week one of the 

"MERCANTILE SAMPLER"

Sew Along!

Are you ready to sew with me?

I hope that you will join me here each week 

when I will be doing two tutorials

 weekly...every Monday and Friday.

We are making the 

Mercantile Sampler Quilt

88" x 88"

The quilt is made with my fabric

 collection called Mercantile:)

We are piecing all 25 blocks 

and then turning them into a 

12" circle to applique onto a

 4-Patch Block background!

I detail all of the supplies 

that you need to make the quilt in my

 Bee Prepared post right here on my blog.

I have already posted the

"BEE PREPARED"

 post which not only details

 all of the supplies needed but

 explains how this sew along works.

I have also given the links there 

for the free PDF Download 

of the Sew Along Guides

CLICK HERE

to download the sew along guide

if you have not downloaded yet.

CLICK HERE

to download the sampler block

 sew along guide.

As per usual for the first block in my 

new fabric collection Sew Alongs

 that FIRST tutorial is a video.

Because I now have my own  

YouTube Channel

 I have posted the 

 Birthday Cake Block

Tutorial there.

CLICK HERE

to visit my channel and watch the 

tutorial and I hope that you love it!

Pretty please leave me a comment

over there and let me know:)

If you like what you see 

and my other videos there...

click on subscribe and click on the bell

 to be notified whenever

 I post another tutorial:)

Today we are sewing the 

ANGEL STAR BLOCK

Here's mine all cut and ready to sew!

Cutting each block should be easy 

because of the sew along guide

that is provided for you.

*Take Note*

At the top of each block cutting diagram

 are the unfinished size of block

and then size that the block should be

 after the borders are added.

For the Angel Star we will be using the

 2 1/4" and the 4" Trim-It Rulers.

Let's start by making the four

 quarter square triangles first.

Each will measure 

4" x 4" unfinished and then 

3 1/2" x 3 1/2"

when sewn into the block.

I'll be showing you two different ways

 to make them and you can decide

 which way that you would 

like to make yours before you begin:)

The first way is to trace double lines 

using the marking ruler just like I 

showed you in Monday's video.

Trace onto the wrong side of

 TWO of the "E" squares.

You will sew one each to an

 "A" square and a "G" square 

with right sides together...

*Take Note*

This method uses:

 2 - E squares

1 - A square

1 - G square

And cut them apart between the sewn lines.

Press the seams open.

Now mark another set of 

double lines onto the back of the

 E/G combo lie this...

And layer it with the A/E combo

making sure that the seams 

are going the same direction...

You will sew these two together

 on both marked lines...

And before sewing check again to sew 

if the seams are lined up like this.

Sew on the double lines...

Cut apart and press like this.

Repeat with the other two 

so that you have four total.

Now it's time for trimming!

Place your 4" Trim-It on top and 

line up the diagonal lines on the ruler

 with the four pieced triangles and trim:)

Repeat for the remaining three...

This is your leftovers using this method.

Now you have 4 - Quarter Square Triangles

 that each measure 4" x 4"

This is how many you will need for the

 Angel Star Block.

Now for another method.

I have found in my teaching over the years

 that when making quarter square triangles

 many of my students prefer 

my easy corner triangle method where

 you trim the excess off

so I'm showing this method to you as well.

With this one you would be starting

 out with a single line marking.

This method uses:

4 - E squares

2 - A squares

2 - G squares

 

Trace a SINGLE LINE from corner to corner

on all four of the "E" squares

You will sew them to

 two "A" squares and two "G" squares

Cut the excess of one side off 

using an approximate 1/4" seam allowance.

Set these leftover trimmings aside and

 we will chat about them in a minute:)

Press the seams open and mark a 

DOUBLE LINE on the A/E segment.

Layer them up for sewing

 the two together like this...

lining up the seams.

After sewing on the double lines...

cut apart and press open.

And trim up using the 4" Trim-It Ruler.

Repeat with the others until 

you have a total of four!

 You will have leftovers like these that

 can be either sewn into 

half square triangles or trimmed up 

into squares to add to your scrappy stash

 just like I showed you in Monday's video.

Because we are cutting larger than needed

 and trimming down for ease and accuracy...

both methods have leftovers...

the first method leftovers are discarded

the second has usable leftovers and so

you choose which method suits you best! 

Okay... 

set aside your quarter square triangles

 and let's make 4 half square triangles

with the "H" and the "C" squares.

These are made EXACTLY like I 

showed you in Monday's video 

for the Birthday Cake Block.

I'll take photos of the steps

 to refresh your memory if needed!

We will use the two "H" and 

the two "C" squares to make the

 four half square triangles.

Each will measure 

2 1/4" x 2 1/4" unfinished

and then 1 3/4" x 1 3/4" finished 

after sewing them into the block.

Now you have 4 - half square triangles 

that measure 2 1/4" square 

and this is how many that you need

 for the Angel Star Block:)

Now let's make the four 

corner segments of the block.

Sew the HST's to "D" squares... 

Press the seams open and 

next sew them to the "B" rectangles.

Press open again:)

Each segment should measure 

4" x 4" unfinished  and then

3 1/2" x 3 1/2" finished.

You can use the 4" Trim-It to make

 sure that they all measure 4" x 4".

Now we have all of our segments

 for the block...

let's sew it together!

Lay it out on your design board like this

and sew the three rows together first.

Use the Quick Press to go over the 

seams to open them up all the way 

especially where they intersect.

Press with your iron and use 

the clappers until cool.

Sew the three rows together and 

repeat the pressing steps.

Your Angel Star Block measures

10 1/2" after you sew the border on. 

While my block was cooling 

under the clappers...

I sewed together the 4 patch background:)

I pressed those seams open as well.

This is what the back of my back looks like!

Now it's time to add the borders.

When I sew the borders on 

I like to keep the block on top 

so that I can make sure my seams stay open

 and don't flip closed during sewing...

and also to make sure that 

I don't sew any star points off:)

Press towards the borders 

and then grab your traced circle!

Line up your traced center lines 

with the center of the 

quarter square triangles and 

then pin into place:)

Sew and then trim and cut an X 

in the circle just like I showed you

 in Monday's video.

Use the Point to Point Turner and

 the Quick Press Roller to shape.

Press your circle and use the clappers!

So Cute!!!

Now let's go to the work table and 

lay out the circle onto the background.

Use a ruler to line up the seam lines in

 4-patch background with the centers 

of the quarter square triangles.

Pin and Sue Glue into place!

My Angel Star Block is ready for applique!

Afterwards I'll press from the back and

 then trim it down to 14 1/2" square

so that it can be sewn into the quilt:) 

And then there were two!!

I'm sure that you have noticed 

from the schedule in the guide 

that we are making the blocks

 in order that they are in the quilt

 so that means after you applique and trim

 you can go ahead and sew 

these two together if you want:)

I hope that you love 

sewing YOUR second sampler block

for our sampler quilt...

and then turning it into a circle!

Sew Fun!

I'll meet you right back here

on my blog this Monday for the 

Maple Leaf Block tutorial...

xx

Lori

Other Places to find me:

@Beelori1 Instagram

Lori Holt/YouTube

Bee in my Bonnet Company