An original quilt block inspired by the lovely Aster flower…
The Aster is another original 18″ Quilt block with an inset 15″ circle flower, designed by me for the Dreamcatcher Quilt.
I have always loved the Aster-such a pretty flower, which is also the Birth Flower for September! Did you know it gets its name from Greek, meaning ‘star’, because the flowers resemble stars? In Greek mythology, it became a symbol of love when it was placed on the altars for the Gods. I included it as the eleventh block in the DreamcatcherRound the Year quilt…to coincide with Valentine’s Day in my Block of the Month Quilt. Asters also symbolize wisdom, faith, colour, besides patience, daintiness and charm.
My Aster comes in blue-the blue blooms are not only rare but also extremely lovely-the colour ranging from a light through deep blue to purples. The block is really easy to piece and comes up very quickly. To make it more challenging, I added y-seams to the centre. Of course, you could applique a simple circle as the centre, or try out any of these options!
The printable PDF files instructions and templates for the block are now available on my MadsPatch store on Ecwid.
Four shades of the main colour (blue) totalling about 1/3 yard and small scraps of yellow, gold, light and deep orange – are used here. My Aster is blue to go with Dreamcatcher Quilt, but you could make yours in any of these colours -pink, purple, red or yellow.
Please note that this in a digital pattern, you will receive only a link to download the .PDF files on your computer/device. A paper pattern WILL NOT be snail-mailed to you. The links expire in 72 hours, so you would be well-advised to download the files on a permanent location on your PC/ Mac / Notepad asap.
You need Adobe Acrobat Reader Software, downloadable for free at the Adobe site, to read the files. Print from the saved files; do not print directly from the mail/ link. The patterns are designed for printing on A4 size paper, but letter size 8.5″ x 11.5″ will be fine. Set your printer to ‘Actual Size’ or 100% setting before printing.
All patterns are for your personal use only. Please do not share with others or use for teaching/ workshops etc without my prior permission! The 4 files will include:
Instructions File – contains these instructions including the fabric requirement, piecing order and Master Template to be used as a guide for assembling the block.
FPP Templates File containing foundation paper piecing templates.
Master Template that will help you in assembling the block – remember this is is a mirror image. You can also try out your own colours on the outline block.
Bonus: I also include a bonus file with the pattern, these are tips for paper-piecing you can print and keep with you always!
So what do you plan to make your Aster Block into? A round Christmas table runner?
The Blue Aster is Block 11 of the Dreamcatcher Round the Year Quilt. The 15″ pieced circle is inset in an 18″ ( finished) square.
The foundation paper pieced block is very quick to piece. The centre introduces inset or y seams for the first time in this BOM. The block was tested for me by the lovely Anuradha Ramesh, who also tested the Sapphire Fire block!
If you want the patterns of the previous ten blocks of this quilt, you can find all the links on my MadsPatch Ecwid Store. The Templates and Instructions for this block can be downloaded in printable pdf format from the links at the end of this post.
In the Dusk colourway, the block uses 4 shades of blue for the petals besides some small scraps of yellows and oranges.
Fabric Coding for Blue Aster
Fabric
For Petals
For Centre ( pieces# 3 & 4on I to L)
For Edges
Light Blue
1
2.25″ x 7.5″ ( 8 pieces)
Medium Light Blue
2
2.25″x 6.5″ ( 8 pieces)
Medium Dark Blue
3
2.5″x 7.5″ ( 4 pieces)
Deep Blue
4
2.5″x 6.5″ ( 4 pieces)
Deep Orange
5
1.75″ x 5″
1.75″ x 2.5″ ( 8 pieces)
Light Orange
7
1.75″ x 5″
1.75″ x 2.5″ ( 8 pieces)
Gold
8
1.75″ x 5″
1.75″ x 2.5″ ( 8 pieces)
Yellow
6
1.75″ x 5″
1.75″ x 2.5″ ( 8 pieces)
Printing Instructions
Print the Templates File with your printer settings at 100% or actual size in portrait mode.
Print and keep a copy of the Instructions File for ready reference.
Cut out the paper piecing templates.
Piecing and Assembly Instructions
1. Follow the step by step Instructions for best utilization of your fabric to piece templates A to H.
2. Piece templates I to L
The Master Template is a mirror image – the paper pieced block from the printed paper side!
3. Follow the Master template to join the templates as follows:
Join A to B; Join C to D; Join E to F; Join G to H. You can press seams open to reduce bulk. (I originally did, but then sewed a couple of them to one side with the next seam. I think I will never be able to sew with seams pressed open!)
We now encounter inset ot `y’ seams at the next step. You may refer to the step by step instructions if you are uncertain how to proceed.
Begin at the pointed end of the wedges, leaving ¼” for insetting seam to join AB to I at A1 ; join CD to J At C1, join EF to K at E1 and join GH to L at G1.
Now match the seams at the centre and join IAB to JCD.
Similarly, join KEF to LGH.
Finally join the two halves to make your full flower.
Applique the circle to an 18.5″ background square to complete your full block 11, Blue Aster. I recommend taking a larger square and trimming it to size.
For general tips on paper piecing for the blocks in this BOM, you can look at this post I published some time back.
It is a good idea to pin when handling large or unwieldy fabric pieces!
Pin the Fabric#1 strips on the templates I, J, K and L and keep aside.
You may have noticed that we cut only 4 pieces of the medium and dark blue fabric, whereas they are used in 8 places each! One thing I hate about paper piecing is the amount of fabric one wastes. So, this is how I found a way out, without complicating the cutting instructions!
We `prepare’ templates A to H for piecing.
Pin the rectangular piece of Fabric#3 on piece A1, C1, E1 and G1, aligning one long edge of the fabric ¼” beyond seamline between piece#1 and #3 on the template(s).
Pin for 1/4″ seam, letting the excess fabric hang out
Trim the excess fabric piece.
The excess fabric is trimmed away …
Pin the excess pieces of fabric at piece#1 on templates B, D, F and H.
… and used on the other 4 templates!
Fold the template at seam line between pieces # 1 and #2 on all the templates A to H and trim the fabric beyond the seam line towards circular edge (adding ¼” seam allowance).
I have discovered that trimming to the seam allowance BEFORE piecing makes life easier!
We are ready to start piecing templates A to H. Remember the wrong side of the fabric should touch the paper. Also, travel ¼” beyond the seam line when piecing.
Initially, I used strips of the yellow- orange fabrics to piece the small wedge to the `petals’, but later concluded that piecing with the 1.75″ x 2.5″ rectangles was more efficient and facilitated chain piecing. I am not giving a picture so that I can avoid confusion!
Chain piece all templates A to H up to piece #4.
Add the fifth piece only to templates A , C, E and G, aligning one edge of the fabric as we did for piece #1.
Now fold back the paper on the incoming seam line like in the picture below. Do not worry about the paper getting torn at the seam.
Using one rectangle to piece two long triangles!
Trim, allowing for a ¼” seam.
Don’t throw away that trimming!
This excess fabric piece will be used for piece#5 on templates B,D, F and H.
Use it here!
Add piece#6 on all the templates A to H. With this, templates B, D, F and H are pieced and can be kept aside. Proceed to finish piecing templates A, C , E and G; and I to J.
When piecing I to J templates: first sew the respective 1.75″ x 5″ strip at piece #3 on each of the templates. Trim off and keep the excess fabric piece for sewing at place#4 on the other templates as required.
TThis block is perhaps the quickest to cut and piece!
Assembly Instructions
Flip the pieced templates to the printed side and arrange the templates using the Master Template as a guide.
Pin templates A to B; C to D; E to F and G to H, taking care to ensure you have the right edges together…
Ensure you have the correct edges together!
…and sew. I pressed open the seams ( temporarily, as the final picture will confirm!), but you could also press them downwards, towards the edge.
Remove the excess paper from the seams.
It has been easy so far. Now comes some not-so-simple sewing!
We are ready to join AB to I, CD to J, Ef to K and GH to L.
Pin the edges on the alignment markers. Begin the seam, sewing from centre to edge, on the seam line, leaving the ¼” seam allowance at the top unstitched.
This is how it looks from the other side…
At the end of this, you will have 4 joined templates, IAB, JCD, KEF and LGH. We are ready to join these in pairs.
Again we begin sewing at the centre. If your centre looks good, the rest of the block looks good too!
Start sewing from the corner of the centre and stop short of the end by ¼” , just where the `petals’ begin.
Now align the `petals’ and sew downthe straight edges out to the circumference.
You can start this seam from the corner, including the 1/4″ shown left unstitched in this picture. I went back and sewed that bit afterwards.
One half is ready!
There actually no points to match, so everything falls in place neatly!
Similarly join the other pair KEF to LGH.
Now to join the two halves…again we begin at the centre, matching the centre seams, and leaving ¼” at both ends.
Again, begin at the centre…this is the only time you have to match points!
We are down the last two seams!
… the final seams are down the petals to the circle edge.
Turn it around!
Press the seams.
Flip over and admire your Blue Aster.
Applique your circle to a 19″ square. Trim to 18.5″ square.
You can click on the links below to purchase the pdf pattern for this simple block designed by me ( if anyone else has also had the same idea, my apologies for claiming it – as far as I know, it is an original!) .
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