Stars of the City: March Blocks

Hello Friends and Welcome Back!

With the arrival of March, I'm excited to share yet another step in the Stars of the City pattern!

Since February introduced two new star blocks, this month, we're back to piecing Drunkard's Path and Pseudo Drunkard units! This will be the third and final round of Drunkard's Path units, so I hope you're not too tired of making them yet!

Some of you have mentioned to me that you're struggling a little with the curved piecing method from my instructions and have come looking for a little extra advice. In response, I found a great article on Quilting Daily outlining a few alternative methods for curved piecing that may be helpful!

The link for that will be at the end of this post, so definitely check it out, but first, let's take a look at the unit C instructions!

Pattern Notes

As a reminder, there are a few things to know while working on Stars of the City. These tips will ensure your blocks are pieces neatly and accurately:

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

March Units

In March, the Drunkard’s Path block returns once again with a third and final colour variation.

Drunkard’s Path unit C incorporates one of the fabrics used in the previous two units, fabric B, as well as fabric C, the block background fabric. Using these two fabrics together acts to visually unify the blocks with the curved boarder that contains them.

As with past months, there are also instructions for a straight pieced variation called the Pseudo Drunkard unit. The curve pieced and straight pieced versions of these units can be used interchangeably to make a Stars of the City quilt.

To make either throw sized quilt, make 32 of Drunkard’s Path unit C.

To make an XL twin sized quilt, make 48 of Drunkard’s Path unit C.

To make a queen sized quilt, make 72 of Drunkard’s Path unit C.

Drunkard’s Path Unit C

Cutting Instructions

To make one unit, cut the following:

Fabric B: 1 Drunkard’s Path template B

Fabric C: 1 Drunkard’s Path template A

(templates A and B can be found on the last page of the downloadable PDF below the Pseudo Drunkard instructions, measure the test square before using to be sure they have printed at the correct size)

Piecing Instructions

Mark the centre of the curved edge on both Drunkard’s Path pieces. Place pieces right sides together with centre points aligned, pin at the centre point to secure. Ease the curved edge of piece B around the curve of piece A until the corners meet, pin the ends to secure. Sew around the curved edge.

Trim to 4½” to complete Drunkard’s Path unit C.

Pseudo Drunkard Unit B

Cutting Instructions

To make one unit, cut the following:

Fabric B: 1 square at 2¾”

1 rectangle at 1"x 4½”

1 rectangle at 1" x 4"

Fabric C: 1 square at 4"

Piecing Instructions

Draw a diagonal line on the back of the fabric B square.

Place the fabric B square on one corner of the fabric C square with the drawn line oriented as shown. Sew directly along the drawn line, then trim excess fabric, leaving ¼” for seam allowance.

Sew the remaining rectangles of fabric B to the unit so they both run adjacent to the fabric B triangle as shown.

Trim to 4½” to complete Pseudo Drunkard unit C.

Full instructions for both the traditional Drunkard's Path and Pseudo Drunkard units can be downloaded here:

Although we are most of the way through the quilt along already, if you know someone who would be interested in this pattern, they are welcome to join! Please send them here to download their own copy of the Stars of the City pattern!

Stars of the City Sample Quilt

For the original version of Stars of the City, Drunkard's Path unit C features a deep indigo for fabric B and a magenta-violet for fabric C!

While both of the fabrics used are purple, one is a warm purple and the other is much cooler, so there's still enough contrast to show off the pieced curve!

Stars of the Lily Pond Quilt

My second version of the Stars of the City pattern uses a dark and medium green for fabrics B and C.

I've been really absorbed in another project recently, so I haven't finished making all of the Drunkard's Path units just yet, but I have gotten a start on them. I love how the textures of the green prints work together to create the lily pad look that I'm going for with this colour scheme!

This is the last set of Drunkard's Path units, which means the Stars of the City quilt along is drawing ever closer to its end. I hope all of you have enjoyed the process so far and are excited to embrace another month of piecing!

For those of you looking for a new way to piece your curved Drunkard's Path units, check out this Quilting Daily article where Sarah Erickson outlines several alternative methods for approaching curved piecing:

Erickson, Sarah. Curved Piecing Quilt Tutorial: A Curvy Roundup. Quilting Daily, n.d., https://www.quiltingdaily.com/curved-piecing-quilt-tutorial-a-curvy-roundup/.

I hope her advice inspires you to get started on your Drunkard's Path units with renewed enthusiasm! And if you have any other curved piecing resources, please share those in the comments below to help everyone out!

I can't wait to see your progress on this month's units, please continue sharing across social media using #starsofthecitybom! And don't forget to check back here on 02 April 2024 for the next instalment of the Stars of the City pattern!