How to Make a Sawtooth Star Quilt Block

Last week on the blog we shared a tutorial on a FREE quilt block that used the 4-At-A-Time Flying Geese quilt block. This week we’re taking that skill and applying it to one of the most popular quilt blocks, the Sawtooth Star.

We can date the use of the Sawtooth Star in quilts all the way back to at least 1884 when it appeared in the Farm and Fireside Magazine. Farm and Fireside Magazine was willed with farming advice, book reviews, short stories, poetry, a novel titled Falsely Accused and coined “the most interesting and Fascinating story ever written", and so much more. Magazines were the most popular way quilt patterns were shared in the 1800s, but sometimes they were shared by word of mouth. Quilters would share patterns with their friends, often creating their own name for the designs. The Sawtooth Star block has been known as the North Star, Morning Star, Evening Star, and the Variable star.

The Sawtooth Star block is often referred to as a symbol of honor and is suggested to project the recipient of the quilt. This is linked back to the Native Americans who equated stars with honor and protection. This is why we often see the Sawtooth Star quilt block on quilts that are gifted to newborns and newlyweds.

So how do we make a Sawtooth quilt block? You can follow along with the steps below to make your own Sawtooth Star block. To make this Sawtooth Star block we used our Totally Zing fabric collection.