Get ready to sew your next baby quilt using half square triangles! This fast and easy (and free) baby quilt pattern uses my shortcut method for sewing two half square triangles (HST’s) at one time. After you have sewn all of the HST’s you need, you’ll sew them together with a few extra background pieces and your new baby quilt will be done. And guess what – this free quilt pattern is fat quarter friendly too!

If you love this, check out other sewing ideas on my page of Free Quilt Patterns.

This blog post has been converted to an optional PDF that’s optimized for printing. Find it here. The instructions that follow contain everything you will need to make the Superstar Quilt and it is totally free to read, print, and sew! Just hit CTRL +P on your computer to print. The formatted-for-printing PDF download for $2 is totally optional.

Because of all the patriotic holidays coming up, I made my star baby quilt using fun red, white, and blue fabrics. This free pattern would also make a darling holiday themed star baby quilt too, don’t you think?

If you love to use your Accuquilt fabric cutter like I do, I’ll share the optional cutting die numbers to make this pattern Accuquilt friendly. Using an Accuquilt is optional, but I love it! See all my Accuquilt friendly quilts.

I decided to quilt it with free motion pebbles and ferns in the background areas and ruler quilted ray designs in the half square triangles. To keep the white areas bright, I used Warm & White Cotton Batting.

I love making baby quilts so much that I usually have a few ready to go for last minute baby showers. Before I made this, though – I had given away all my boy baby quilts and only had cute girl quilts left. Now I’m ready for the next one of my friends who has a baby boy.

This HST Star Baby Quilt pattern is perfect for boys or girls!

Are you ready to learn my half square triangle shortcut method so you can quickly make this HST Star Baby Quilt? Let’s sew!

Half Square Triangle Star Baby Quilt Pattern

Finished dimensions: 40 1/2’’ x 40 1/2’’.

You will need:

• 1/4 yard each of navy blue, medium blue, light blue, and red fabrics (or as desired – fat quarters will work great if they are at least 18’’ tall)

• 1 yard background fabric

• a piece of batting at least 45’’ x 45’’

• 2 1/2 yards of background fabric, or enough to piece together a 45’’ x 45’’ quilt back piece

• 1/2 yard fabric for the binding

• a pencil or fabric marker

Cutting:

All cutting dimensions are height x width.

If you have an Accuquilt cutter, you can quickly sew the half square triangles together without using the shortcut method below. The following dies will work with this quilt pattern:

• 5” finished HST  die 55805
• 5” finished square die 55803
• 5 1/2” strip die 55026

Use the HST Shortcut Method to Make Half Square Triangle Units

I made my red and cream HST’s first because I love the color red! The chart below shows the number of HST units you’ll need to make. You can sew them in any order.

1. Place one 6’’ print fabric square right sides together with a background fabric 6’’ square. Using the pencil or fabric marker, draw a diagonal line across the wrong side of the square that is on top. Pin the two squares together in the middle.

2. Sew along both sides of the drawn line a scant 1/4’’ away from the drawn line.

3. Cut the square piece in half diagonally along the drawn line. Trim each half square triangle to 5 1/2’’ square. I love my Bloc Loc ruler for this because it doesn’t slip. This technique gave you two matching half square triangles!

Use this method to make the following half square triangles:

Sew the Quilt Top Together

1. Using a quilt design wall or large table to layout your pieces, arrange the half square triangles together with your 5 1/2’’ background fabric squares and 5 1/2’’ x 10 1/2’’ background fabric rectangles to make 16 blocks as seen above.

2. Sew the 16 blocks with a 1/4’’ seam allowance. Press.

Tips:

• Each quilt block is repeated 2 times.

• If the quilt block contains 2 square pieces and a rectangle, sew the two squares together first, and then add the rectangle.

• If the quilt block contains 4 square pieces, sew the squares together in pairs, and then sew them together.

3. Sew the blocks together to make 4 rows. Then sew the 4 rows together to finish the quilt top,

Finishing the Star Baby HST Quilt

1. Cut the backing fabric in half and sew it together to make a piece big enough for the back of the quilt (at least 45’’ x 45’’).

2. Sandwich the quilt top, batting, and backing together and baste. My favorite basting methods to hold my quilt sandwich layers together are fusible batting or pin basting.

3. Quilt the quilt top as desired.

4. Cut 4-5 strips of binding 2 1/2’’ x width-of-fabric and sew them together using diagonal seams. I was able to bind my quilt with just 4 binding strips sewn together, but if your fabric isn’t 44’’ wide, you may need 5 strips. Bind the quilt using your preferred method. See how I bind my quilts by machine here.

Happy Quiltmaking!

By the way, I teach these shortcut piecing methods in my Choose Joy! Block of the Month Program. It’s a great way to build quiltmaking skills and learn how to make 10 different classic quilt blocks!