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Saturday, December 5, 2015

Jenny Doan's Double Square Star

I love Jenny.
Jenny is a very accomplished quilter.
I am sure half of us who quilt can blame it on Jenny and her tutorials.

When I saw the newest tutorial - Double Square Star, I fell in love with it. The star was lovely and even lovelier was the secondary pattern it created.  here is the link for your viewing pleasure.

There is only one problem. I hate snowballing.
Yes, I know it is a very strong word but really those little 2.5" squares on the corners move too much. The whole effort of creasing or drawing a line on each one seems too much.  It is not for me.

I love the pattern but hate the method of creating that block.  Has to be another way.

Yes there is. Here it is:

Fabric Requirements - One 7.5" square, one 3.5" square, one 2.5" strip

The rest of the story is in the following pictures
Purple Square - 7", Pink Square -3.5", White Strip - 2.5" by WOF
Keep the large square aside.  

Use the 2.5" strip to frame the small pink square.


Stitch using a scant 1/4" seam

Here is the result


Are you with me so far?

Now, all you have to do is make half square triangles from these two squares.

I drew two diagonal lines (stitch lines) on the back of the purple fabric. It is a bit hard to see.
But I did not want to deal with drawing lines over the pink/white seams.


Stitched on the lines, 1/4" from the diagonal center.


And then cut :-)


There you have not one but two blocks, without dealing with any little squares (UGH)

I know it looks different from Jenny's squares. If you use the same fabric for the large and the small squares, it will look exactly like Jenny's block.

I used different squares to be able to show you better.

Trim the little corners, press and enjoy.



Once again, I want to reiterate that I love Jenny and she has brought immense joy to the lives of millions of quilters all over the world. This is just my attempt to show a different way (easier for some) to do the same block.

If you like this, please let me know.

20 comments:

  1. That's genius! I'm not crazy about snowballing either but since I'm not the best at cutting fabric, using Jenny's method with charm squares and JR strips would work better for me. Especially since I have so many charm packs! Wonderful of you to figure this out though. I'm sure many people will love it!

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  2. I like this so much better! I also hate snowballing because (a) it is tedious to crease and stitch small pieces, and (b) it creates little scraps that I, frankly, never use. This method also makes it easier to make the "back" square a contrast to the front square. As always, you have improved upon an already good idea.

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  3. I don't mind snowballing. Your way is easier and I will be giving it a try. Thanks for sharing.

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  4. Do i like this??? Nah,,, i LOVE THIS!!!!! :))
    I can't tell you how much i was screaming "right on" when you said you HATE snowballing... me too!!!Thanks so much:))
    Now if only you were here when i was trying to make the "buzz saw" block using my jellyroll.. I know there is a way,, but it didn't work out as i thought,, will have to fudge it... THAT i am famous for..... Hugs, GrammaBabs

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  5. Our brains must work the same way. When I saw the block, I thought to do it the same way. :) Great tutorial.

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  6. I am so thrilled to know you. Thank you for doing this. I have come to really dislike snowballing blocks. Not just the trouble in doing them but the waste of fabric too. This tutorial is awesome. Maybe this will work for others as well. I just recently got the corner clipper ruler, going to try that too.

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  7. Leave it to you Preeti to figure out a different way to do the block. I love the way you see easier routes!

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  8. You are so darn smart!!!!! Thanks a million. If anyone could have figured out how to do this, it was certain to be you.

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  9. I just love how creative us quilters all are! Well done and thanks for sharing!

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  10. I think it is a fabulous rendition of Jenny's block! Thank you for taking the time to figure it out and sharing with us!

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  11. That's such a great idea. Thanks for showing us so clearly and cleverly.

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  12. Great idea! I've been dealing with my desire to run from snowball blocks by making stars for tablerunners and a cot quilt but your alternative is something I'm going to Pin and keep. Thank you!

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  13. You must share this with Jenny, she will be excited about an even easier method to get the job done! Cindy nrsi2000@aol.com

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  14. I don't mind snowballing, but I thought I could easily cut (as roll it through my Accuquilt Go and stick it on the corner. Um, no, it is a little fussy trying to line it up correctly. I'm going to work some more on this whole idea and see what happens. I like your idea except that little extra seam on block -- what happens if you put two shorts on then two longs?

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  15. THANK YOU!!!! I don't like video tutorials OR snowballing, but I absolutely adore you for this tutorial!

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  16. What a great idea. Thanks for sharing.

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  17. What does the finished quilt look like?

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  18. Thank you. Love your way of doing it. Bah Humbug on sewing and flipping tiny squares. :-)

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  19. Brilliant! Love how your mind works!

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  20. Hmmm... if you're not using pre-cuts, this seems to be a more efficient and fabric-saving method to achieve the same result. Thanks for the tip, Preeti !

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