Barbara Fritchie Star

Here is a small patriotic quilt for the coming holidays. It has an interesting story about the bravery of a woman during the Civil War. – The incident allegedly takes place during the American Civil War when the southern rebel troops were marching through Frederick, Maryland. Barbara Fritchie, a 96 year old woman is the heroine of John Greenleaf Whittier's poem that describes an incident where it is said Barbara Fritchie waved a union flag at the enemy. The legend itself says that the flag was hanging out of an upstairs window and the Confederate troops shot it as they marched through town. Visit this coordinating blog to read the full story, an excerpt from the famous poem, and find the block cutting and sewing diagram to make the quilt: www.sewwequilt.com

Here is the quilt and the directions to make it.

Barbara Fritchie Star

Quilt Size: 56" x 56"

1 Center Block: 16"

20 Border Blocks: 8"

Fabric Requirements and Cutting

Refer to the cutting diagram on the www. sewwequilt.com blog to cut the blocks

Red Print – 2-1/3 yards

Cut (17) strips 2-1/2" x wof, recut into (100) 2-1/2" squares

Cut (6) strips 2-7/8" x wof, recut into (80) 2-7/8" squares then cut each square in half on the diagonal once to make (160) half square triangles

Cut (1) strip 4-7/8" x wof, recut into (4) 4-7/8" squares, then cut each square in
      half on the diagonal once to make (8) half square triangles

Cut (6) strips 2-1/4" x wof, sew together end-to-end for binding

Gold Print – 1-1/4 yards

Cut (3) strips 2-7/8" x wof, recut into (40) 2-7/8" squares, then cut each square in
      half on the diagonal once to make (80) half square triangles

Cut (1) strip 4-7/8" x wof, recut into (4) 4-7/8" squares, then cut each square in
      half on the diagonal once to make (8) half square triangles

Cut (5) strips 1-1/2" x wof, sew together end-to-end, then cut (2) short inside
       borders 1-1/2" x 16-1/2" and (2) long inside borders 1-1/2" x 18-1/2" plus (2)
       short outside borders 1-1/2" x 22-1/2" and (2) long outside borders
       1-1/2" x 24-1/2" to surround the large center star

Cut (8) strips 2-1/2" x wof, sew together end to end and cut (8) 2-1/2" x 40-1/2"
       outside borders

Blue Print – 1 yard

Cut (17) strips 2-1/2" x wof, recut into (100) 2-1/2" squares

Cut (6) strips 2-7/8" x wof, recut into (80) 2-7/8" squares then cut each square in half on the diagonal once to make (160) half square triangles

Cut (1) strip 4-7/8" x wof, recut into (4) 4-7/8" squares, then cut each square in
      half on the diagonal once to make (8) half square triangles

White Print – 1-1/4 yards

Cut (3) strips 2-7/8" x wof, recut into (40) 2-7/8" squares, then cut each square in
      half on the diagonal once to make (80) half square triangles

Cut (5) strips 5-1/4" x wof, recut into (20) 5-1/4" squares, then cut each square in
      half on the diagonal twice to make (80) quarter square triangles

Cut (1) strip 7-1/4" x wof, recut into (1) 7-1/4" square, then cut this square in half
      on the diagonal once to make (4) quarter square triangles

Cut remainder of 7-1/4" square into (2) 4-7/8" squares, then cut these squares in
       half on the diagonal once to make (4) half square triangles

Making the Quilt

Refer to the block diagram on the www. sewwequilt.com blog to sew the blocks

1.     Referring to the block diagram, sew (1) 16" center Barbara Fritchie Star block for the quilt center and (20) 8" Barbara Fritchie Star blocks for the borders.

2.     Sew the short gold 1-1/2" borders to opposite sides of the center block and the long 1-1/2" borders to the top/bottom of the center block. Sew (2) side borders with (5) red and (4) blue 2-1/2" squares. Join to opposite sides of the center star. Sew (2) top/bottom borders with (6) blue and (5) red 2-1/2" squares. Join these borders to the top/bottom of the center star. Sew remaining gold borders to the sides then top/bottom of the center star assembly.

3.     Piece the (2) 8" star blocks together. Make (2) side borders with (3) blocks each and join to opposite sides of the quilt center. Make (2) top/bottom borders with (5) blocks each and join to top/bottom of the quilt center.

4.     Make (8) strips with (10) red and (10) blue 2-1/2" squares in a long row. Join these rows together in sets of two, alternating the red/blue squares as shown. Join a gold 2-1/2" x 40-1/2" to each side of the red/blue rows to make the pieced borders.

5.     Sew a pieced border to opposite sides of the quilt center. Join the (4) remaining star blocks to opposite ends of the (2) remaining pieced borders and join to the top/bottom of the quilt center to complete the quilt.

Layer the quilt top, batting and backing. Quilt the layers together. Bind the edges to finish.