Stars of the City: April Blocks

Hello Friends and Welcome Back!

Another new month means another new block in the Stars of the City quilt!

In March, we assembled the last of our Drunkard's Path and Pseudo Drunkards units! I know we've made a lot of them over the past few months, so congratulations to those of you who got all of them finished! And to those of you who, like me, are still working on their Drunkard units, piece at your own pace and they'll be done in no time!

But now that April has arrived, it's time to shift our focus back to a brand new star block! This month is unique because it introduces only one block pattern, Double Ribbon Star, but you'll still be making just as many blocks as in past months!

For the additional blocks, the number of which depends on which sized quilt you plan to make, will be chosen from all the seven block patterns made so far! The block you chose will be featured at the centre of your finished quilt, so be sure to choose one that you love!

Let's take a look at this month's block!

Pattern Notes

To get started, here are a few notes to keep in mind while piecing your blocks:

sew all seams using a ¼” seam allowance
press each seam before sewing the next and before trimming units

April Blocks

The star blocks return in April with one final pattern.

The final block in the Stars of the City pattern is the Double Ribbon Star. This block uses some of the techniques from past months, including two at a time half square triangles and stitch and flip flying geese, but also introduces another unique unit.

Block requirements for April are different from past months, please read carefully:

To make either throw sized quilt, make one Double Ribbon Star block, then select your favourite block from any month and make one (two blocks total).

To make an XL twin sized quilt, make two Double Ribbon Star blocks, then select your favourite block from any month and make one (three blocks total).

To make a queen sized quilt, make two Double Ribbon Star blocks, then select your favourite block from any month and make two (four blocks total).

Double Ribbon Star

Cutting Instructions

To make one block, cut the following:

Fabric B: 2 squares at 2½”

Fabric C: 2 rectangles at 3" x 6"

2 squares at 3"

4 rectangles at 2½” x 4½”

2 squares at 2½”

Fabric D: 2 rectangles at 3" x 6"

2 squares at 3”

Fabric E: 1 square at 3“

4 squares at 2½”

Fabric F: 2 squares at 3”

1 rectangle at 2½” x 4½”

Fabric G: 1 square at 3"

4 squares at 2½”

Fabric H: 1 rectangle at 2½” x 4½”

Piecing Instructions

Select one 2½” x 4½” rectangle of fabric H and two 2½” squares of fabric G.

Draw a diagonal line on the back of both fabric G squares.

Place one fabric G square on one end of the fabric H rectangle with the drawn line oriented as shown below. Sew directly along the drawn line then trim excess fabric, leaving ¼” for seam allowance.

Repeat in the opposite corner with the other fabric G square.

Trim to 2½” x 4½” to complete the flying goose unit, set aside.

Repeat the steps above using one 2½” x 4½” rectangle of fabric F and two 2½” squares of fabric G.

Trim to 2½” x 4½” to complete the flying goose unit, set aside.

Select one 3" x 6" rectangle of fabric C, one 3" x 6" rectangle of fabric D, and one 2½” square of fabric E. Draw a diagonal line on the back of the fabric E square and the lighter fabric rectangle as shown.

Place the rectangles right sides together so the edges are offset, but the corners with the drawn line align as shown, then sew ¼” to either side of the drawn line.

Carefully cut along the drawn line to yield two half rectangle triangle units.

Trim to 2½” x 4½”.

Place the square of fabric E on the fabric D end of one half rectangle triangle unit with the drawn line oriented as shown. Sew directly along the drawn line then trim excess fabric, leaving ¼” for seam allowance.

Trim to 2½” x 4½”.

Make two, set aside.

Repeat with another 3" x 6" rectangle of fabric C, 3" x 6" rectangle of fabric D, and 2½” square of fabric E. Draw the diagonal line on the rectangle in the opposite direction as shown below:

Trim to 2½” x 4½”.

Make two, set aside.

Select one 3" square of fabric C and one 3" square of fabric D. Draw a diagonal line on the back of the lighter square. Place the squares right sides together and sew ¼” to either side of the drawn line. Carefully cut along the drawn line to yield two half square triangle units.

Trim to 2½” to complete the half square triangles.

Make four, set aside.

Repeat with a 3" square of fabric E and a 3" square of fabric F.

Trim to 2½” to complete the half square triangles, set aside.

Repeat once more with a 3" square of fabric F and a 3" square of fabric G.

Trim to 2½” to complete the half square triangles, set aside.

Using one 2½” square of fabric B, two 2½” x 4½” rectangles of fabric C, one 2½” square of fabric C, one triangle rectangle unit, and half of the half square triangle units, assemble the left side of the block as shown:

Set aside.

Repeat using the same units in the opposite orientation to assemble the right side of the block as shown:

Set aside.

Using all remaining units, assemble the block centre as shown:

Complete the block by assembling the left, centre, and right sides as shown:

Trim to 16½” x 8½” to complete the Double Ribbon Star block.

Full PDF instructions for the Double Ribbon Star block can be downloaded here:

And if you know anyone who would be interested in making this block or the whole Stars of the City pattern, please send them here to download their own copy of the pattern!

Stars of the City Sample Quilt

The original version of this block featured bright sunset colours

As I've mentioned many times, the original colours of the Stars of the City pattern were inspired by the sunset sky, which ties nicely into the celestial, starry theme of each of the blocks!

The Double Ribbon Star block was inspired by the traditional Ribbon Star block, which makes up the centre of this one, and the border makes use of a unique triple triangle rectangle unit, which I had a lot of fun playing around with!

And since the original sample is a throw sized version of the Stars of the City pattern, I needed one additional block to make up the quilt centre. For this, I chose the Birds of the Night block, which is one of my absolute favourites in this pattern!

Here, you can see how the second Birds of the Night block looks when joined with the first, but this step will be covered in next month's final assembly instructions, so you don't need to worry about joining your blocks just yet!

Stars of the Lily Pond Blocks

With only one new block to make this month, I had no problem putting together a Double Ribbon star block in my Stars of the Lily Pond colours as well!

In some past months, I've opted to make changes to the colour placement of my lily themed blocks, but I didn't feel the need to do that with Double Ribbon Star. I briefly considered changing a few things since this block looks very similar to my lily themed Queen of the Sky block, but the shape of the pale green leafy outline, and that of the pale pink centre are a little different and make the two blocks slightly unique!

As for this month's bonus block, Stars of the Lily Pond is going to have a totally unique layout that requires two of each star block. I've been doubling up on them as I went along, so I only had my two Double Ribbon Star blocks to make this month. I'm looking forward to showing off my layout with the release of next month's final assembly instructions!

With the release of our final block instructions, this month brings us one step closer to completing our Stars of the City quilts!

Friends, I've really enjoyed seeing your quilts turn from a colour scheme into unique blocks of your own. I can't wait for next month to arrive to I can see those blocks become a quilt top!

Until then, I hope you'll continue sharing stories and photos of your progress both here in the comments, in my email, and across social media using #starsofthecitybom! And, as always, if you ever have any questions or concerns while working on your blocks, please reach out as I'm always happy to help!

There's a whole month left to put together your own Double Ribbon Star blocks, and whichever of our previous blocks you decide to make duplicates of, so I hope you're able to take your time and piece at your own pace! Then on 07 May, instructions for the final assembly of your Stars of the City quilt top will be waiting for you here!