Reverse Sawtooth Star Quilt Pattern
Learn to make beautiful sawtooth star quilt blocks with this free tutorial! Below I will list out the math and fabric requirements so you can size and resize sawtooth star quilt blocks as needed. Then, as a reward for getting so good at quilting up pretty stars, you will find a FREE Reverse Sawtooth Star quilt pattern at the bottom of this post!
The Reverse Sawtooth Star pattern is beginner friendly, fat quarter friendly and the perfect introduction to this most beloved quilt block from the past. Each set of light and dark fat quarters produces 6 Sawtooth Star blocks. So grab your fabric and let's go!
A Quick History On The Sawtooth Star Block
The Sawtooth Star block has had many different names throughout history. Before quilt patterns were commonly published, women created patterns on their own or borrowed them from friends. Sometimes the patterns that were shared had a name that was passed on, while other quiltmakers gave each of their quilts a brand new name. As a result, we have identical quilt block patterns with many different names.
This block became standardly known as the Sawtooth Star in 1884 when a pattern was published by Farm & Fireside magazine. However, even after 1884, publications were printing this pattern under various names such as Evening Star, Variable Star, Square and Points (super original) and North Star.
Sticking with the very common practice of naming a quilt block based on household items and things observed in everyday life in early America, the Sawtooth Star received it’s name from the triangles that are reminiscent of a saw’s cutting edge.
Trending patterns!
Quilt Patterns
Quilt Patterns
Quilt Patterns
Quilt Patterns
Quilt Patterns
Quilt Patterns
Quilt Patterns
Quilt Patterns
Quilt Patterns
If the history of quilt blocks is of interest to you (and if you're on my website it probably is) check out anything written by Barbara Brackman – especially her book, Making History: Quilts & Fabric from 180-1970.
Make Your Own Sawtooth Star
Below are dimensions for 4 different block sizes: 4", 8", 12" and 16"
Supplies
Did you know there is a section in the shop linking to ALL of my favorite tools and supplies? Click here!
- Fabric
- Rotary Cutter - Check out this blog post on the Best Rotary Cutter!
- Cutting Mat (Here's a blog post aaaaall about cutting mats and what to look for.
- Ruler (You guessed it! A blog post all about quilting rulers.
- Iron
- Ironing Board
- Pins
- Sewing Machine (I have multiple sewing machine blog posts. Type "sewing machine" into the search button to see them all!)
- Thread (Part I and 2 of thread, coming at ya!)
Fabric | 4" Sawtooth Star | 8" Sawtooth Star | 12" Sawtooth Star | 16" Sawtooth Star |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Light Fabric | 1 - 3 ¼” square | 1 - 5 ¼” square | 1 - 7 ¼” square | 1 - 9 ¼” square |
Light Fabric | 4 - 1 ½” squares | 4 - 2 ½” squares | 4 - 3 ½” squares | 4 - 4 ½” squares |
Dark Fabric | 1 - 2 ½” square | 1 - 4 ½” square | 1 - 6 ½” square | 1 - 8 ½” square |
Dark Fabric | 4 - 1 ⅞” squares | 4 - 2 ⅞” squares | 4 - 3 ⅞” squares | 4 - 4 ⅞” squares |
Simple Sewing Steps
- The first step is to make 4 Flying Geese. Place 2 small dark squares on opposite corners of the large light square. On the wrong side of the dark squares, draw a guideline from corner to corner.
- Sew a ¼” from the guideline on both sides. Cut apart. Fig.1
- Press seams out. Place 1 small dark square right side down and sew a ¼” from the guideline on both sides. Cut apart and press seam out. Repeat with the remaining unit. Fig.2
- Now that you have 4 Flying Geese, or points on your star, sew the remaining squares together in rows as you see in Fig.3
- Sew the three rows together and press to complete the block.
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Make A Quilt!
Now that you have mastered the Sawtooth Star block, put your skills to work and create a quilt top. Below are instructions for one of my favorite patterns, the Reverse Sawtooth Star Quilt. This quilt is Fat Quarter friendly too!
Reverse Sawtooth Star Quilt Pattern
Finished Quilt Size - 56" x 64"
Finished Block Size - 8" (56 blocks total)
Fabric - 20 *Fat Quarters (10 light, 10 dark) OR if you choose to use solid white as the background fabric, you need 10 Fat Quarters and 2 ½ yds. of white fabric cut into 10 Fat Quarters
*A Fat Quarter or FQ is pre-cut fabric measuring 18" x 21"
Cutting Instructions
- Stack a dark and a light Fat Quarter on top of each other and lay them horizontally, so the longest side (the side that is ~21" in width) is at the bottom.
- Trim the left side of the stack so that both fabrics are in line with each other. Cut a 5" strip.
- From that 5" strip, cut three 4 ½" squares and two 2 ½" squares. See cutting diagram below.
- FLIP the remaining FQ 90° so that the long side is still on the bottom. Your FQ should currently measure 16" x 18".
- Cut one 5 ¼" strip. Sub-cut that strip into three 5 ¼" squares.
- Cut three 2 ⅞" strips. Sub-cut TWO of those strips into ten 2 ⅞" squares.
- From the third 2 ⅞" strip, cut two 2 ⅞" squares, for a total of twelve 2 ⅞" squares).
- From the remaining portion of that strip, cut four 2 ½" squares.
- Cut one 2 ½" strip. Sub-cut that strip into six 2 ½" squares, for a total of twelve 2 ½" squares.
Block & Quilt Assembly
Each set of light and dark FQs will produce 6 Sawtooth Star blocks. Three of those blocks will be the reverse of the other three. Fun, right? You will have 60 blocks made, and since you only need 56, 4 will be left-over. Looks like you’re making a pillow too ;)
- From the fabric you just cut, separate the pieces so that each stack contains all the pieces for one block. This will save you some confusion. Each block will contain:
- 1 – 4 ½” square
- 1 – 5 ¼” square
- 4 – 2 ⅞” squares
- 4 – 2 ½” squares
- Sew the blocks together as instructed previously.
- Lay all of the stars out, using a checkerboard pattern of light, then dark, then light again.
- Once you are happy with the layout, sew blocks together in rows and then sew those rows together, pinning where the blocks meet.
- If you are on Instagram use the hashtag #SuzyQuiltsReverseStar so that we can all enjoy your beautiful designs!
Hi! I love your quilts and designs! I just found you on Instagram a few weeks ago. I just tried this sawtooth block tutorial and couldn’t get it! I’m a quilter with a moderate amount of experience, and I cut everything really carefully (both times!) and I had about a half inch extra once I started seeing the rows together! Any help on that? I guess I’ll keep trying… Maybe I should start sewing a quarter inch down? A little confused.
Hi Melody, I’m sorry to hear that the math isn’t working out for you. I have successfully made all of these sizes and had them work out. Is it possible that you have some of the dimensions mixed up for the different block sizes? What size sawtooth star are you trying to make?
Thanks for the beautiful pattern, Suzy! I tried making a test square this afternoon to better understand the pattern and I think the confusion might be coming from the light/dark fabric instructions. When you follow the Simple Sewing Steps as written with the Measurements Chart above it, the sides don’t match up and everything is wonky. If you reverse the light/dark fabric in either the Simple Sewing Steps or the Measurements Chart, everything comes together nicely!
ahhhhh! You’ve solved the mystery! haha I was so confused but now I see the mistake and have fixed it. Thanks so much for your help! 🙂
sometimes my sizing was off for blocks because my seam was less than 1/4. Sometimes I assumed I was at a 14 inch because I was using my 1/4 foot…but it was actually an 1/8 seam. Good luck!
Can’t wait to try this way of making star blocks! I have had a UFO waiting to be done the old way! I take it down once in awhile cause I love stars too. But never seem to get at it. This way of cutting FQ and making the geese looks so quick! Thanks for sharing!
Oh thank you! I’m going to make yellow and red for summer!
hi! i’m getting ready to make a gigantic shot cotton and muslin rainbow reverse sawtooth quilt – so excited!
i was just wondering – do you recommend trimming each flying geese before assembling the star? is there any real benefit to doing this, or just extra work? thanks so much!!
That sounds beautiful! I would recommend trimming the dog ears to alleviate bulk in the seams. That will help your blocks lay flat so you have an easier time basting and quilting. I’m pretty laid back about trimming blocks down to their exact size. I figure, as long as they are close enough, it will all work out 😉 Happy sewing! xo
Thanks so much for this tutorial Suzy! i recently made some Sawtooth stars up, just for the fun of it! It was easy to follow your tutorial and they turned out really well. I ended up using 2 of them to make a cute book bag for a friends little girl, another 2 for a floor cushion for my sons room & the final 2 are going to be the start of a quilt for when he moves out his toddler bed into a bigger single bed. Thanks again!
What a great tutorial! Thank you so much! Can’t wait to get started!
Am going to try this pattern as it looks really neat. Thank you for sharing.
Is there anywhere to get measurements for the reverse sawtooth for a 6″ block? I have a special grandson that wants a spiderman quilt with red and blue stars and the 8″ will be too big. Any help is greatly appreciated!
Without making a test block, I’m pretty sure this is the math based on the pattern laid out in the cutting chart.
Light Fabric: 1 – 4 1/4″ square and 4 – 1 3/4″ squares
Dark Fabric: 1 – 3 1/2″ square and 4 – 2 3/8″
Make a test block to be sure that’s correct before mass producing them. Good luck!
Was wondering if you could give me an idea of how much fabric was used for the inner border and the pieced border on the quilt with the all light background. I love the look of that quilt and would love to be able to replicate it. Thank you for the wonderful tutorial.
I have actually made that quilt a couple times because I like it so much! The one in this photo is a queen quilt. I believe the inner border is about 2″ finished, so you would need about 12 – 2.5″ x 42″ strips…which would be about a yard of fabric. The piano key border was made purely from 1930s scraps and fat quarters, so it’s tough to say how much fabric you would need. Those strips could be as big as you want them, or as large as your scraps dictate.
Hi Suzy! I love the gingham/checkered version you included and was wondering how to add that border between the individual stars. Beginner quilter here and having a hard time figuring it out 🙂 thanks for your help!
Hi Sara, that border is called “sashing.” Once you decide how thick you would like your sashing, add a 1/2″ to the width of the strips. For example, if you want 1 1/2″ sashing, cut your strips 2″ wide. That is for the 1/4″ seam allowance. Cut your strips the same height as your blocks and sew them on the interior sides of the blocks in horizontal rows. Once you have horizontal rows, sew long strips on the top and bottom of those rows to connect everything. I have diagrams of this in the Tail Feather pattern is that’s not making sense.
What is the difference between Sawtooth and Reverse Sawtooth?
Kathleen
Sawtooth Star is the name of the traditional 8-point star block. The Reverse Sawtooth Star pattern is a free pattern in this post that plays with negative and positive space to create a fun checkerboard look using the Sawtooth Star quilt block.
Love this tutorial! Just what I don’t need another quilt pattern🤗. I like it so much, will set aside the quilt on my machine and start the Reverse Sawtooth today. Thank you.
Suzy, do you happen to know if this block is Accuquilt friendly? I can’t cut a straight line to save my life, lol!
I bet it is, however I’m not sure you could cut all of the pieces from fat quarters using one. You may need to get a bit more fabric.
How can I make these blocks but make them into 7 inches instead of 8? i cant figure out the measurments.
7″ Finished Sawtooth
Corners: 2.25 Cut (4)
Middle Square: 4 (1) (Middle square is always 1/2 of the block size.
Flying Geese: 4 at a time: 5″ large square (Goose) (1) and 2.75 (4)
Make a test block.
Looking at the full quilt picture above (the version with the different color blocks), I don’t see sashing in between. How do you join the blocks without sashing and still have all the points intact?
There is a 1/4″ seam allowance built into these blocks so you can sew them together without losing the tips of the stars. If you want to match seams with lots of precision, check out this post on using fork pins – https://suzyquilts.com/fork-pins-the-best-way-to-match-seams-perfectly/