Patchwork Hanging Star

This post also appears on the Craft Cotton Company blog as a guest post here. They also sent me the fabrics to use for this tutorial but all views are my own.

This tutorial is based on a project in the book Sew Quick, Sew Cute. 

You will need:

-       Fabric – scraps will be fine, 2,3 or 6 different colours/designs

-       Diamond shape template

-       Scissors, or rotary cutter and mat

-       Pins

-       Thread

-       Sewing machine

-       Toy stuffing/cotton wool or similar

-       Notions for decorating the stars – ribbon, buttons etc.

For each star you will need to cut out 12 diamonds – 6 for each side – so you can decide how many of each fabric to use. I’ve made this star with three different fabrics so needed four of each. You can make the diamonds whatever size you like depending on how big you want your final star to be. I wouldn’t recommend going too small though otherwise it will get a bit fiddly! The template given in the book for this project is 3 7/8 inch tall by 2 ¼ inch wide.

I used one of these plastic patchwork templates, or you could cut out a shape from cardboard. Draw round your template onto the fabric and cut out. I found the plastic template a bit flexible so if I’d cut straight round it with a rotary cutter it probably would have distorted the shape. Depending on your fabric you might want to ‘fussy cut’ to choose the best bits of a design. I used a rotary cutter and mat to cut out as it meant I could cut several layers at once and make sure they all ended up the same size.

Arrange your diamonds into a star to decide what arrangement you like best.

Start by sewing two diamonds together along one side – use a 5mm seam allowance. Then attach a third diamond to these – press the seams towards the darker fabric (or whichever way is easier if your fabrics are the same tone).

Continue sewing the diamonds together into sets of three – you should end up with four pieces. Take two of the sections and sew together across the longest edge to complete the star shape. Press this seam open.

Make the second star in the same way, but leave a section unstitched so that you will have a turning gap for later.

Now take your two stars and put them right sides together, pin to hold in place. Sew around the outside of the whole shape, again with a 5mm seam allowance. Pivot carefully at all the ‘in’ and ‘out’ points.

Trim off the points of the same allowance and clip into the corners, then turn the star through the turning gap you left earlier. Carefully ease all the points out.

If you want to be able to hang your star, now is a good time to attach a loop. Use embroidery thread, string, or thin ribbon, tie a knot in one end, then sew this from the inside of one point and back in again making sure to leave a loop of thread on the outside. Tie off again on the inside.

Stuff the star with small amounts of toy filling, making sure to push it right into the points and keep the shape even.

Sew up with the turning gap with a careful ladder stitch that will be invisible once the thread is pulled up.

Now you can decorate your star however you like. I decided to sew a button on each side through the middle of the star to ‘puff’ out the shape a bit. Or, you could sew ribbons, mini tassels or little bells onto the points – just make sure they’re not too heavy otherwise your star will droop!

Hang your stars with pride all over your house and tree this Christmas!