For downloadable instructions for the Star Spangled Baby quilt or a larger Star Spangled Variation quilt modified by Jenny Doan of Missouri Star visit: PerryTreeByTrisha – Etsy
Guess what? There’s going to be another baby added into the JAG Corps family. Well, two of them actually. One of our sweet wives is having twins! One boy and one girl. Today I’m going to show you the quilt I made for the boy.
I started off with an idea in my head of what I wanted it to look like. Blues for the top, reds for the bottom and white stars going across diagonally. I headed to Happy Quilt and began my search for fabrics. The fat quarter section has so many options and they are a little less than a dollar each, so I had no worries about grabbing as many as I wanted. I only had to get the white for the stars, the backing and the batting in bigger pieces. (Happy Quilt is located in South Korea so these prices do not reflect what you will find most anywhere else.)
Here’s what I got.
Does anyone else hear “Stars and Stripes Forever” by John Phillip Sousa? No? Just me?
Anyways, I proceeded to cut the white, blue, and red squares for the half square triangle blocks. These will be the points of the stars.
Blue, red, and white squares were cut for the background and star centers.
To make the half square triangle pieces I drew a diagonal line on the back of the first set of white squares and placed them right sides together with a colored piece. Then I sewed 1/4 inch on both sides of the line. Chain stitching them together saves a lot of time. After they were stitched, all I had to do was cut along the diagonal line I had drawn, open them up and iron them.
Next I arranged everything on the floor so that I the fabrics were dispersed well.
I sewed the pieces into small chunks of four.
Then those chunks were sewed into strips and the strips into a finished top.
All that was left to do was quilt it together and bind the edges.
For the quilting part I followed the seam lines of every other square and stopped before I came to a star. I sewed around the edges of the stars so that the pattern would show on the back side also.
This was a fast and easy quilt to make and I still can’t believe that it actually turned out just as I had it in my head! How often does that happen?
Here’s just a couple shots of it posing.
Hope you enjoyed seeing how this Star Spangled baby quilt came together!
Stay tuned for the girl’s quilt. You know I’m not making only one quilt when she’s having twins!
For downloadable instructions, visit: PerryTreeByTrisha – Etsy
Fun Update!
Fellow quilter, Laura N., sent me a picture of her Star Spangled Baby Quilt. Didn’t it turn out beautifully? Adding the personalization to one of the stars is a great idea.
Thank you for sending me your picture Laura!
And another update!
Dana C. sent in some pics of her take on the Star-Spangled Baby Quilt. She made these two. I love seeing how changing the colors makes it look so different!
Great job, Dana!
How big does this quilt finish? Can it be enlarged?
Hi! This quilt is for a baby, so it’s quite small. It is approximately 36 by 48 inches. It could easily be enlarged by either starting with larger squares or by adding more squares to it’s length and width. More white stars could also be added to the blue and red fields if you went with the second option. Hope that helps!
How many charm packs did you buy and how much backing and binding did you buy as well and where can I get the pattern to make this quilt
Hi Brian, I apologize for taking so long to see your message. I have never used charm packs, so I don’t know how much is in them. The finished size is 37″ x 49″. A crib sized batting roll will be more than enough. 1 1/2 yards will be enough for the backing.
That turned out just darling! The new mama must have been over the moon – what a sweet gift! I was thinking of increasing the size and using it as a donation quilt for a VFW fundraiser, but I may have to make a nay quilt too. Thank you for sharing your wonderful idea – you made a beautiful quilt!
Thank you so much! If you do end up making one, please send me a picture. I’d love to see how it turns out!
Can you tell me how much material you got of every color–this quilt is darling, and I love red, white and blue!!
Hi, In looking back over my pictures (it’s been too long to remember!) it looks like I used 9 fat quarters of both blue and red material. It can be made with smaller selection of fabrics because I had plenty left over from my pickings.
Thank you for this adorable pattern! I have made one and embroidered the baby’s name in one of the stars. It was fun to choose fabrics just from my stash, so I didn’t have to shop!
I would love to see a picture of how yours turned out!
I would love to share a photo, but it doesn’t look like I’m allowed to share in this venue. Any suggestions?
Sorry it took me so long to respond! For some reason I could see that I had a message. If you would like, you can send it to me at taperry110@gmail.com and I can add it in.
This quilt is adorable!
Where can we find this Happy Quilt you mention for fat quarters? Online? Bricks & mortar? Thanks!
Hi Melody,
Happy Quilt is a bricks and mortar store, but unfortunately it’s in South Korea. I really should have stocked up more before we were relocated!
This is so pretty! Is there a printable version? Thanks!
Thank you! There isn’t a printable version, but I am looking into how to do it.
Would also love a pattern. I’m a beginner and this seems like one I could do.
Thanks
Hi Betty,
I have been working on a printable instruction page. I will try to get it up soon.
I saw your Star Spangled quilt showcased/demoed by Jenny Doan of Missouri Star Quilt Co. and fell in love with it. I’d like to make her larger version, potentially for a fund raiser for our local Veteran’s group. Jenny had a printed version of you conversion from the baby quilt size, but I don’t find it on your site. Can you please direct me as to how I can get your printed pattern?
Thank you for your time and consideration. Julie Mitchum
Hi Julie, I do apologize for taking so long to get back to you. I have my patterns for sale at PerryTreeByTrisha.etsy.com