{Classic Quilt Blocks} Friendship Star - Variations

Classic Quilt Blocks have been sewn for centuries, are easy to recognise and are every quilters favorite. Let's celebrate these gorgeous blocks and add them to our quilting projects!

The Friendship Star block is such a fun block to play with, whether you adapt the colour values, the layouts or the block design. There are so many variations of this block and you'll notice that some of them are referred to by different names, such as the Ribbon Star block or Water Wheel block etc.

Today I'm going to share a few of the variations I played with to inspire you. Hopefully they will illustrate the gorgeous secondary patterns you can create with this block when it's used in a quilt. Please note these diagrams are for inspirational purposes only, they are not patterns.

Let's start with the most basic Friendship Star block like we sewed in last week's tutorial:

In either a straight setting or an on point setting, these gorgeous blocks dance and float around the quilt like ballerinas. The block may be simple, but doesn't it make a sweet and pretty quilt? Each example is all about the blocks and I love that!

If I had to choose, I think my favorite is the on point setting. If you wanted to add a little more visual interest, then add some sashings and cornerstones. Perfection!

Adding a third colour to the block not only changes the look of the quilt but it adds an extra element. An extra colour in the HST units anchors the floating stars together and creates a pretty layout with very little effort.

Adding a third colour to the corners, adds warmth to the quilt and creates large blocks of colour. You could make these corners as scrappy as you want to inject more colour into the quilt, or only add colour to two corners to create a diagonal chain between the blocks.

So, layout and colour are fun to play with, now let's have a look at variations of the block design:

Replacing the square corner blocks with HST units creates a gorgeous secondary pinwheel (my absolute favorite) to the quilt. The pinwheels pop in the one colour but scrappy would work as well.

This is such a simple variation with lots of possibilities.

Switching the orientation of the HST corner units creates a lovely woven pattern connecting the star blocks into a gorgeous quilt. This one is so fun and looks way more complicated than it actually is. Stunning!

Adding a simple four patch to the corners of the block, and some sashings and cornerstones to the layout creates a wonderful secondary chain pattern linking all the star blocks together. This one is really pretty, don't you think? It would make a great scrappy pattern.

Adding an extra strip of colour to the corner HST's creates a two toned secondary square pattern. This gives the quilt a modern feel and adds something fun to the design. You could really play around with this variation, and it would be quick and easy to sew.

Dividing the outer HST triangles into two creates another gorgeous secondary pinwheel pattern which also floats in the quilt. I love this one! The pinwheels are smaller and softer than the other example and it doesn't overpower the Friendship Star blocks. So cute!

And I love this variation as well. I'd keep each star in the same fabric but use a mix of fabrics in the corners to make the secondary pattern scrappy and fun. This one could be a fun one to try! Maybe we could do something like this for the Scrappy Sew Along I want to run later in the year.

So, that's just a few variations of the Friendship Star block to inspire you to create some gorgeous quilts of your own. It's a block that shines in any setting and even in its most basic form you're guaranteed an eye catching quilt. Which one's your favorite?

I hope these examples give you the confidence to play with colour, layout and design to adapt the Friendship Star block in your future quilts.

Next week I have a mini quilt pattern for you, and it's the perfect example of two is better than one. Stay tuned!

Happy quilting :)