One Block Sawtooth Star: 3 Yard Quilt Pattern

Sew a One-Block Sawtooth Star Quilt with just 3 yards of fabric! This free quilt pattern with a big medallion-style Sawtooth Star is perfect for the fall and winter seasons. Three Yard Quilts are so easy to make because most quilters have 3 yards of fabric in their stash just waiting for the right pattern. Let me show you how to make this beautiful showpiece quilt.

This blog post has been converted to an optional PDF that’s optimized for printing. Find it here. The free One-Block Sawtooth Star Quilt Pattern is included in the blog post below and is free to read, print, and sew! Just hit CTRL +P on your computer to print. The Optimized for Printing PDF download for $3 is optional. Did you know you can get ALL the Optimized for Printing PDF files organized in a library for you to access anytime you want? Check it out.

What Size is a 3-yard Quilt?

This particular quilt finishes at 50” x 50”, which is a smallish throw-size quilt. You’ll have enough fabric to finish the quilt top, the border, and double fold binding! More fabric is required for quilt back.

Most 3-yard quilts are throw quilts or lap quilts because they don’t require a lot of fabric. Many of them (like this one) would also make a beautiful holiday wall hanging. Since this type of quilt isn’t very big, you can finish it quickly and give it as a gift or use it in your home. Because of the size, throw quilts like this one are easy to quilt on a domestic sewing machine.

You might recognize a similar (but larger) Holly and Berries Appliqué Design on my Merry Stars Quilt. If you love this One-Block Sawtooth Star Quilt but need something bigger, you will LOVE the Merry Stars Quilt Pattern.

How to Choose the Right 3 Yards of Fabric for a 3 Yard Quilt

All my 3 Yard Quilt Patterns make it really easy to pick your fabric. First, find a beautiful ‘focus fabric’ in your stash or at your local quilt shop. This should be a fabric that really sings to you – or that makes you think of the intended recipient of the quilt.

I wanted to make a red and white Christmas quilt without using holiday fabrics. My focus fabric is an older, out-of-print fabric from Laundry Basket Quilts that I paired with fabrics from Free Spirit (Joel Dewberry) and Moda (Grunge). I love it when I can shop from my fabric stash like that!

After you have chosen your focus fabric, choose one coordinating fabric that is lighter and one coordinating fabric that is darker. The lighter fabric may be considered a background fabric. It’s important that it has good contrast with the other two fabrics.

If you follow these instructions for choosing your fabrics, you can’t go wrong, and you probably already have the right yardage in your stash to make a beautiful quilt.

Wouldn’t this quilt pattern make a beautiful quilt in Moda’s Good News Great Joy collection?

One Block Sawtooth Star Free Three Yard Quilt Pattern

This free quilt pattern includes instructions for the mediallion center star and a 5” border with applique block corners.

Including the border, this finished throw quilt is 50” x 50”. It’s perfect for snuggling on the couch, hanging on your wall, gifting to a friend, or donating to Project Linus or another worthy organization.

Let’s get creative and sew a beautiful quilt today!

You will need:

• 3 one-yard cuts of fabric (a main focus fabric, one darker fabric, and one lighter fabric)*
• 1/2 yard fusible web adhesive (such as HeatnBond lite iron-on adhesive)
• a rotary cutter, acrylic ruler, and cutting mat
• sewing machine
• thread (I suggest thread matching the lighter fabric)
• ironing board and iron

Tip: Your lighter fabric (Fabric C) must be at least 42” wide. Please measure before starting.

To sew the quilt top into a finished quilt, you will also need:

• 3 1/8 yards of backing fabric (or enough to piece together a 55” x 55” or larger quilt back)
• a piece of quilt batting at least 55” x 55”

Cutting:

Fabric A is your focus fabric. From this fabric, cut:

• 2 squares 10 7/8” x 10 7/8”
• 2 squares 4 3/8” x 4 3/8”
• 4 strips 5 1/2” x 40 1/2” for the border

Fabric B is the darker fabric. From this fabric, cut:

• 4 squares 10 7/8” x 10 7/8”
• 4 squares 4 3/8” x 4 3/8”
• 5 strips 2 1/2” x 42” for the binding

Fabric C is the lighter fabric. From this fabric, cut:

• 1 squares 21 1/4” x 21 1/4”
• 5 squares 5 1/2” x 5 1/2”
• 1 square 8 1/4” x 8 1/4”
• 4 squares 4” x 4”
• 4 squares 10 1/2” x 10 1/2”

Quilt Piecing

Use a 1/4’’ seam allowance and a regular stitch length such as 2 – 2.5.

How to Sew the Large Sawtooth Star Quilt Block

Cut Squares into Half Square triangles and Quarter Square Triangles

1. Cut all of the Fabrics A and B 4 3/8” squares in half diagonally once to make small half square triangles.

2. Cut all of the Fabrics A and B 10 7/8” squares in half diagonally once to make large half square triangles.

3. Cut the Fabric C 8 1/4” square in half diagonally twice to make small quarter square triangles.

4. Cut the Fabric C 21 1/4” square in half diagonally twice to make large quarter square triangles.

Make 4 Small Flying Geese Units and 4 large flying Geese Units

1. Sew two small Fabric B half square triangle pieces to one small Fabric C quarter square triangle piece as shown to make a small flying geese units that are 4” x 7 1/2”. Trim away the dog-ear corners.

Repeat to make 4 small flying geese units.

2. Sew two large Fabric B half square triangle pieces to one large Fabric C quarter square triangle piece as shown to make a large flying geese unit. Trim away the dog-ear corners.

Repeat to make 4 large flying geese units that are 10 1/2” x 20 1/2”.

3. Sew two 4” Fabric C squares to the side edges of a small 4” x 7 1/2” flying geese unit.

Repeat to make 2 pieces.

4. Sew two 10 1/2” Fabric C squares to the side edges of a large 10 1/2” x 20 1/2” flying geese unit.

Repeat to make 2 pieces.

Build the Medallion Block from the Center Out

1. Mark a horizontal center line across one of the Fabric C 1 1/2” squares. This is easy to do by folding the square in half and pressing the fold lightly with your iron.

2. Sew a small Fabric A half square triangle to one side of the square, using the center line you marked to help you center the triangle on the square.

3. Then sew another small Fabric A half square triangle to the other side of the square. Press the points of the triangle outward. Use a ruler and rotary cutter to help you trim away the ‘dog ear’ triangles along the top and bottom edges.

4. Sew two more small Fabric A half square triangles to the top and bottom edges of the square. If you like, you can mark the center of the square in the opposite direction to help you sew these pieced triangles on correctly, too.

Press the block and trim away the dog ears.

5. Sew the two small flying geese units that are left to the side edges of the center piece. Press.

6. Sew the two strips made out of small flying geese and 4” squares to the top and bottom edges of the center piece. Press.

7. Sew a large Fabric A half square triangle to one side of the center piece.

8. Then sew another large Fabric A half square triangle to the other side of the center piece. Press the points of the triangle outward. Use a ruler and rotary cutter to help you trim away the ‘dog ear’ triangles along the top and bottom edges.

9. Sew two more large Fabric A half square triangles to the top and bottom edges of the center piece.

Press the block and trim away the dog ears.

10. Sew the two large flying geese units that are left to the side edges of the center piece. Press.

11. Sew the two strips made out of large flying geese and 10 1/2” squares to the top and bottom edges of the center piece. Press.

Make 2 Holly and Berries Applique Blocks for the Corners of the Quilt

1. Print the Holly & Berries Applique templates at 100%, do not enlarge or reduce the PDF image.

2. Trace the shapes onto the paper side of the HeatnBond lite or other brand fusible web adhesive. Trace each shape 4 times. Label each shape with the letter shown to help you keep the pieces organized.

3. Separate the ‘berries’ shapes and the ‘holly’ shapes. Fuse the berries to the wrong side of a scrap of Fabric A. Fuse the leaves to the wrong side of a scrap of Fabric B.

4. Cut out all of the shapes along the traced lines. Remove the paper backings and fuse one of each shape to each of the remaining 5 1/2” Fabric C squares, as shown.

Tips:

• It’s normal for the shapes to overlap a bit – let the berries be on top.
• Keep the applique shapes about 1/2” away from the edges of the squares.
• You can sew around the applique shapes now, or perform that step while quilting.

Make 4 applique blocks.

5. Sew around the applique shapes using a straight stitch or another stitch from your sewing machine. I used a small machine ‘blanket stitch.’

Finishing the One Block Sawtooth Star Three Yard Quilt Pattern

1. Cut or piece together a 55” x 55” or larger piece of quilt backing fabric and make a quilt sandwich with the backing, batting, and top.

2. Baste together with fusible batting, pins or basting spray.

3. Quilt as desired. Straight line quilting or cross hatch quilting with your walking foot would be fast and easy.

4. Cut 5 binding strips and bind using your favorite method. This is my favorite quilt binding method.

As always, I love seeing the quilts you make with my free sewing patterns. Please post a picture to Instagram and tag me @sewcanshe so I can take a look!

xoxo,