Sawtooth star block hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 3 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Sawtooth star block: preview of the stitched design

A sawtooth star quilt block is seamed in back stitch: it has a square in the middle, a square in each corner, and on each side a large triangle between two small ones that are the points of the star. The eight points are filled with satin stitch, each worked in two halves that meet in a line from tip to foot, the stitches of each half laid a different way, and the middle square holds a flower of eight pointed petals in fishbone stitch round a small disc of satin stitch.

Size and details

Easy. In a hoop of 6 inches or less: short satin stitches, no shading; in a larger hoop the widest satin stitches are long.

3 colors of floss and 3 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	1.4 × 1.4 in	3.6 × 3.6 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.2 × 2.2 in	5.6 × 5.6 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	2.9 × 2.9 in	7.4 × 7.4 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.6 × 3.6 in	9.1 × 9.1 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5 × 5 in	12.7 × 12.7 cm	1/2 in (13 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 1/2 in (13 mm) across. Satin stitches longer than about 12 mm (just under 1/2 in) tend to work loose: divide the shape into sections, or work it in long and short stitch.

The pattern is drawn inside a circle about half an inch (1.3 cm) smaller all around than the hoop.

What you need

DMC 3350 Ultra Dark Dusty RosePoints of the star and flower in the middle
DMC 3809 Very Dark TurquoiseSeams
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawCenter of the flower in the middle

The floss is six-strand cotton; the stitch guide says how many strands to use. You also need a hoop, an embroidery needle (a size 7 to 9 suits two or three strands) and plain cotton or linen fabric. To frame the piece in its hoop, cut a square 3 inches (8 cm) wider than the hoop: a 9 inch (23 cm) square for a 6 inch hoop.

Stitch guide

Satin stitch 2 strandsPoints of the star, center of the flower in the middle
Back stitch 2 strandsSeams
Fishbone stitch 2 strandsFlower in the middle

Getting it onto your fabric

The PDF holds the pattern twice at actual size: once as drawn, and once mirrored for an iron-on transfer pen. Print it at 100% with scaling off and check the one-inch square (25.4 mm) with a ruler before you trace. How to transfer a pattern explains tracing, carbon paper and the other ways. The files are under Downloads.