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TreadleOn Block Exchanges - Basic Blocks - Friendship Star

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TOBE Blocks are exchanged between members, co-ordinated by a host, and they vary from year to year. You send in sets of blocks as specified by size and fabric and get back a selection from other makers...
These instructions are for the regular, easy, beginners' blocks and are useful for all sorts of projects

This block's instructions assume a degree of accuracy - if you find that this is beyond your skills or those of your machine, check your seam allowances carefully, or maybe consider an easier exchange!

You need:-
Pre-washed cotton fabrics.
Blocks should finish at 6-1/2 inches trimmed, for 6 inches when sewn into a quilt
TOBE fabrics should always be pre-washed and pressed before cutting
Square ruler at least as big as your trimmed block size
Cutter and mat
Pencil
Treadle or hand-crank machine(s)
Cotton thread, please
fspieces For one block you need four 2-1/2 inch squares in your background colour
Two 3-1/2 inch squares in each of your background and accent colour for half-square triangles and EITHER one more 2-1/2 inch back ground or one accent or one contrast square of 2-1/2 inches

Samples are made in plains for clarity, but please make a note of the colours and or patterns required for the exchange

All seams are made by putting the Right Sides Together and using a 1/4 inch seam. Pin if needed, but don't sew over your pins!
hst2 Draw lines on the back of the fabric across your larger square, corner to corner, and 1/4 inch either side. Use pencil
hst3 Sew, right-sides together, on the outer lines, and cut the two parts along the centre line (shown both sides). Use a matching or neutral thread and a smallish stitch as we are going to trim these
hst4 Press to set the seam, from the darker side, then open the block without moving it from the board, and press firmly, making sure there are no little crinkles along the seam
hst6 Like so...
hst7 Trim to exactly 2-1/2 inches with your ruler and cutter. If you can't or don't do rotary cutters, mark using a pencil and cut neatly on the line with scissors
Now, this looks wasteful, but it's sooo much easier to trim a bit more off than a sliver, and I know you aren't short of fabric.

Of course, as you get better at this, you can start with slightly smaller squares, maybe 3-1/4 inches

(Note, many of the online sites say "add 7/8 to your finished size for perfect HSTs". Yes, if you are very accurate, but you still have to trim off the "ears". I always make oversize and trim)
hst8 Trimmed. Look how tidy! Make two pairs for each block...
layout Lay out your block into its correct order like so. Note the direction of the points, they should rotate nicely all in the same direction. For exchanges, please do them this way round...
sewrows Sew the rows together
rowspress Press the top and bottom rows outwards and the central one inwards
press2 Sew the rows together and press both seams to the middle. This allows for "nesting" seams when your blocks are sewn together

CHECK the size when you have made one block, if it is too big or too small you need to check your seam allowances
variant1 You can add a third colour, use the accent colour in the middle, or make a "hollow" star with the background fabric in the middle...
And scrappy is fun too...