Sawtooth Star Quilt Block — Cutting Chart for Any Size
2 fabrics · Difficulty 3 of 5
Sawtooth Star is a 4×4 block of 17 pieces. Cut sizes for 4″, 8″, 12″, 16″, 20″ are below; for any other size it divides into cleanly, type the size and the chart recomputes.
Set the finished sizeAt a glance
- Grid
- 4×4
- Pieces you cut
- 10 — subcutting turns them into the 17 in the sewn block
- Difficulty
- 3 of 5 — confident beginner How this is scored
Set the size
Nearest sizes that cut cleanly:
- Squares — Background
- 3½″
- Large squares for flying geese — Fabric A
- 7¼″
- Small squares for flying geese — Background
- 3⅞″
- Squares — Fabric A
- 6½″
Reading focusFlying-geese units form a ring around the centreflying-geese unit
- Construction lattice
- 4 modules wide × 4 modules high
- Unit mix
- flying-geese unit, square
- Piece count
- 10 to cut · 17 in the diagram
Cut these pieces
Column headings are the FINISHED block size — the size it will be once it is sewn. Every number in the table is the size to CUT, which includes ¼″ of seam allowance on each edge. Rows that are subcut on a diagonal are cut larger still, so the allowance survives the extra cuts.
Scroll sideways to see every size.
| Patch | 4″ | 8″ | 12″ | 16″ | 20″ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Squares — BackgroundCut 4 | 1½″ | 2½″ | 3½″ | 4½″ | 5½″ |
| Large squares for flying geese — Fabric ACut 1, cut on both diagonals | 3¼″ | 5¼″ | 7¼″ | 9¼″ | 11¼″ |
| Small squares for flying geese — BackgroundCut 4, cut once on the diagonal | 1⅞″ | 2⅞″ | 3⅞″ | 4⅞″ | 5⅞″ |
| Squares — Fabric ACut 1 | 2½″ | 4½″ | 6½″ | 8½″ | 10½″ |
Read the block
Match each fabric letter in the diagram to the same fabric name in the cutting table. The caption describes the generated geometry in text.
Fabrics in this block
- A — gold
- BG — background
Which sizes divide cleanly
Scroll sideways to see every column.
| Grid | Divides cleanly at | The first few sizes |
|---|---|---|
| 2×2 | every 1″ | 1″, 2″, 3″, 4″, 5″, 6″ … |
| 3×3 | every 1½″ | 1½″, 3″, 4½″, 6″, 7½″, 9″ … |
| 4×4this block | every 2″ | 2″, 4″, 6″, 8″, 10″, 12″ … |
| 5×5 | every 2½″ | 2½″, 5″, 7½″, 10″, 12½″, 15″ … |
| 7×7 | every 3½″ | 3½″, 7″, 10½″, 14″, 17½″, 21″ |
- A 5-patch block at 12″ would need 2.4″ units, which is not a mark on any ruler. Try 10″ or 12½″ instead — Sister's Choice is the 5-patch block on this site.
- A 7-patch block at 12″ would need 1.714…″ units, which is not a mark on any ruler. Try 10½″ or 14″ instead — Bear's Paw is the 7-patch block on this site.
More about the sizes that do not divide cleanly
The sizes in between
Every whole-inch Sawtooth Star size from 4″ to 20″ can be cut accurately on its 4×4 grid.
These sizes divide cleanly but sit between the main chart's columns — the same computed cuts, published here so they exist on paper too. Any other clean size still computes in the size input above.
Column headings are the FINISHED block size — the size it will be once it is sewn. Every number in the table is the size to CUT, which includes ¼″ of seam allowance on each edge. Rows that are subcut on a diagonal are cut larger still, so the allowance survives the extra cuts.
Scroll sideways to see every size.
| Patch | 6″ | 10″ | 14″ | 18″ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Squares — BackgroundCut 4 | 2″ | 3″ | 4″ | 5″ |
| Large squares for flying geese — Fabric ACut 1, cut on both diagonals | 4¼″ | 6¼″ | 8¼″ | 10¼″ |
| Small squares for flying geese — BackgroundCut 4, cut once on the diagonal | 2⅜″ | 3⅜″ | 4⅜″ | 5⅜″ |
| Squares — Fabric ACut 1 | 3½″ | 5½″ | 7½″ | 9½″ |
About this block
- Pieces in the finished block
- 17
- Unit types
- flying-geese unit, square
- Divides cleanly at
- 2″, 4″, 6″, 8″, 10″, 12″, 14″, 16″, 18″ and 20″ finished.
- Also known as
- Variable Star, North Star, Morning Star, Evening Star
- Attribution
- Farm and Fireside, 1884 · Brackman #2138
- Brackman number
- #2138
- Fabric for one 12″ block
- ¾ yd total, rounded up to the nearest ⅛ yard, assuming 40″ of usable width.
Geese ring the centre square, each unit turned to point away from it, and the points land right on the block's outer edge — the first casualty of a generous seam when the top goes together. The centre itself is a single unpieced square, so the matching all happens in the ring of seams around it.
Piecing order
Make the 4 flying-geese units.
Lay out section 1 of 3 and sew it together.
Lay out section 2 of 3 and sew it together.
Lay out section 3 of 3 and sew it together.
Join the 3 sections, matching the seams.
Cutting oversize
The chart gives the standard cut sizes, nothing padded. Some quilters cut this block's triangle units a little oversize and trim back — published allowances genuinely disagree on how much, so the range with its sources is on how to square up a quilt block.
History
Barbara Brackman documents dated examples back to 1783 — Deborah Wilson's quilt, now in the D.A.R. Museum — with others from 1787 and 1797, making this one of the oldest patchwork stars on record. The name arrived a century later: Farm and Fireside printed it as Sawtooth Star in 1884, and Carrie Hall's 1935 index called it Variable Star. The points are the teeth of the saw.
Sources: Barbara Brackman — Early Sawtooth Stars; 1812 War & Piecing — Variable Stars.
Common questions
What size can I make Sawtooth Star?
Any size it divides cleanly: 2″, 4″, 6″, 8″, 10″, 12″, 14″, 16″, 18″ and 20″ finished. The chart above carries 4″, 8″, 12″, 16″, 20″ ready-worked, and the size input computes any other clean size without you doing arithmetic — every value computed by Quilt Block Atlas, none transcribed.
How many pieces are in a Sawtooth Star block?
17 pieces make up the sewn block, but you cut 10. The difference is method: triangle units are cut as squares and subcut, so the chart's quantities are what your rotary cutter produces, not what you count in the diagram.
What sizes does a 4×4 block divide into cleanly?
2″, 4″, 6″, 8″, 10″, 12″, 14″, 16″, 18″ and 20″ finished. The step is half the grid this block's cutting sizes are computed on, and the clean-size table above marks this block's row with the other families beside it.
Is Sawtooth Star good for a beginner?
It makes a fine early block, though not a first one — it scores 3 of 5, confident beginner, on this site's computed scale: 17 pieces, with the flying-geese unit as its hardest unit. The scoring rule, and every block ranked by it, is on the difficulty page linked above.
How do finished size, sewn unfinished/trim size, and starting cut size differ?
Finished size is 12″ after the block is sewn into surrounding seams. Its sewn unfinished/trim size is 12½″ before those outer seams, derived with the plain-square allowance. Starting cut size is the method-specific input listed in the chart. Starting cut size equals the unfinished outer target only for a plain square or rectangle workflow; it is not generally the same for pieced triangle units.
Keep going
Related blocks
Where this block appears
Calculators for this block
- Quilt block grid calculator
- Flying geese calculator
- Quilt top size calculator
- Fabric yardage calculator
Reference
Before you print
Measure this square before you cut. It must be exactly 1 inch. If it isn't, your printer scaled the page — reprint at 100% or "Actual size", not "Fit to page".