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Quilt block

Ohio star quilt block

The Ohio star is an eight-point star on a nine-patch grid: four plain corner squares, a center square and four star-point units made from quarter-square triangles. If you can make a half-square triangle, you can make this block; the star points are just two HSTs sewn together and cut again.

A red and cream star quilt with a red border draped over the foot rail of a wooden bed in a sunny room
Ohio star block: a red center square, four hourglass star-point units and four cream corners
Two-fabric Ohio star. The star fabric is the center and the side triangles of each point unit.

The block has been around a long time. The International Quilt Museum holds an Ohio Star quilt by M. Jane Brown, dated 1850 to 1860 and probably made in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. The name was never fixed: a sample block made by the quilt collector Carrie A. Hall in the early 1900s, now at the Spencer Museum of Art, is catalogued as the "Ohio Star, Variable Star, Lone Star, Texas Star, or Mystery Flower Garden" block.

How the block is built

Ohio star block pulled apart into nine units in three rows
Nine units in three rows: corner, star point, corner / star point, center, star point / corner, star point, corner.

The grid is 3 × 3, so each unit finishes at one third of the block. A 9-inch block has 3-inch units. Each star-point unit is a quarter-square triangle (QST): four triangles meeting in the center, with background at the top and bottom and star fabric at the sides. Turned around the center square, the eight star-fabric triangles become the star's eight points.

Cutting chart (one block)

Finished blockUnit sizeBackground: cornersBackground: for star pointsStar: centerStar: for star points
6 in2 in4 squares 2½ in2 squares 3½ in1 square 2½ in2 squares 3½ in
9 in3 in4 squares 3½ in2 squares 4½ in1 square 3½ in2 squares 4½ in
12 in4 in4 squares 4½ in2 squares 5½ in1 square 4½ in2 squares 5½ in

The star-point squares are cut at the unit size plus 1½ inches, which leaves a little to trim. The exact size is unit plus 1¼ inches (3¼, 4¼ and 5¼ inches); use it only if your seams are dead on. The block measures 6½, 9½ or 12½ inches unfinished. Every size here was checked by calculation.

Step 1: make four quarter-square triangles

Two half-square triangles placed with opposite colors facing, stitched on both sides of a diagonal and cut into two hourglass units
Two HSTs, opposite colors facing, make two QSTs.
  1. Pair each background star-point square with a star-fabric square, right sides together. Draw a diagonal on the background square and sew ¼ inch on both sides. Cut on the line. You have four HSTs. Don't trim them.
  2. Press the seams toward the star fabric.
  3. Put two HSTs right sides together with opposite colors facing: star fabric against background. The seams will nest because they're pressed in opposite directions. Pin at the seam.
  4. Draw a diagonal line across the top HST, perpendicular to its seam, so it runs through the seam at the center.
  5. Sew ¼ inch on both sides of the line and cut on it. Each pair gives two QSTs; your four HSTs give the four you need.
  6. Press the new seam open, or to one side. Open is flatter where the four points meet.
  7. Trim to the unfinished unit size (2½, 3½ or 4½ inches). Put the ruler's 45-degree line on one diagonal seam and center the ruler so both seams cross at the middle of the trimmed square, and the seams run exactly into the corners.

To find the center, halve the unfinished size: for a 3½-inch unit, put the ruler's 1¾-inch lines (both directions) on the point where the seams cross, then trim the two exposed sides. Turn the unit and repeat.

Step 2: lay out and sew the block

  1. Lay out the nine units. Top row: corner, QST, corner. Middle row: QST, center, QST. Bottom row: corner, QST, corner.
  2. Turn each QST so the background triangles face the block edge and the center square, and the star-fabric triangles point sideways. Check the layout against the diagram before sewing; a turned QST is the most common Ohio star mistake.
  3. Sew each row. Press the top and bottom rows toward the corner squares and the middle row toward the center square.
  4. Join the rows, nesting the seams. Press the long seams toward the middle row, or open.
  5. Measure: 6½, 9½ or 12½ inches.

Variations

A three-fabric Ohio star uses a third fabric for the center square and the inner triangle of each point unit (the one touching the center). For the point units, cut one background square, two star squares and one center-fabric square (same size as in the chart). Pair background with star and center with star to make two HSTs of each kind, then pair one of each kind, with the star halves not facing each other, for the second seam. Each pair gives two identical units: background, star, center, star around the middle.

Swap the corner squares for a print and the block reads as a star inside a frame. Use a large-scale print or a photo transfer in the center square and the star frames it, which suits a keepsake or memory quilt where a small piece of a loved one's shirt goes in the middle.

Common mistakes and fixes

  • Star points cut off at the block edge. The QST was trimmed off center, or the seam allowance was wider than ¼ inch. Trim with both seams crossing at the exact center.
  • QSTs too small after trimming. The exact-size squares were used with a scant or wide seam. Cut the larger squares.
  • A missing pair of star points. All four QSTs are identical, so a unit turned a quarter turn puts background where the points should be. Lay out the whole block before sewing.
  • Bulk at the center of each QST. Press the second seam open.
  • Block not square. Usually one row is longer than the others. Measure each row before joining.

Quilts made from Ohio stars

Ohio star quilt: 13 red and navy stars alternating with 12 plain cream blocks
Thirteen 12-inch stars alternating with twelve plain 12½-inch cream squares, 5 × 5: a 60 × 60-inch quilt before borders.

Alternating stars with plain blocks is the classic setting, and the plain blocks give you room for quilting. In red and navy on cream it makes a patriotic quilt; if you're making one for a veteran, read the Quilts of Valor requirements first so the size fits. Our patriotic star throw uses the sawtooth star instead, which has flying geese for points.

The QST in this block is the same unit as the hourglass block, which has its own chart for more sizes.

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