Sawtooth Star Quilt Block History

In the tradition of quilt blocks being named after everyday items sawtooth refers to the right angled triangles looking similar to the teeth of a saw.

Sawtooth star quilt block history.

Before quilt patterns were commonly published women created patterns on their own or borrowed them from friends. In 1935 carrie hall called it variable star. Although quilting is known to have existed since ancient times the art of quilting is uniquely associated with american women throughout u s. The ladies art company published it as evening star a few years later.

Regardless of the blocks name the sawtooth star is one of the oldest quilt blocks that has stood the test of time. Pioneer era patchwork was a necessity in a time when new fabric was a scarce commodity. Assemble an 8 sawtooth star block. It s 2138 in my encyclopedia of pieced quilt patterns with the name sawtooth referenced as from farm fireside magazine in 1884.

All details for this block. How to make a perfect sawtooth star quilt block. Whatever you decide to name your block it is certainly one that has stood the test of time. Some may call it the 8 pointed star block while others call it the evening star block.

This sawtooth star quilt block can be constructed using half square triangles for the points. Nebraska state block the history of the state quilt block goes back many years. Align one marked gold floral 2 1 2 square with one end of a cream print 2 1 2 4 1 2 rectangle diagram 1. The sawtooth star has many names.

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. Trim the seam allowance to 1 4. The sawtooth star block is also sometimes known as evening star. A star quilt was given to a bride and groom to show honour and respect for the marriage to newborns to guide its young life to young warriors to protect and show admiration and to families of the dead to show respect and sympathy.

But i personally prefer to use flying geese units for the points as it eliminates an unnecessary seam between the points reducing extra bulk and leaving larger pieces of fabric design intact. The sawtooth star block has had many different names throughout history. Its name can be traced back to a us magazine in the 1880s however the block can be seen in quilts from the mid 19 th century. In 1907 the fancywork department of a popular farm magazine hearth and home asked readers throughout the country to contribute pieced block patterns representing their state.

Many call this star a sawtooth star today. Patterns were no doubt passed from one generation to the next and one woman to the next.