Ohio Star Quilt Block — Cutting Chart for Any Size
2 fabrics · Difficulty 3 of 5
Ohio Star is a 3×3 block of 21 pieces. Cut sizes for 6″, 9″, 12″, 15″, 18″ are below; for any other size it divides into cleanly, type the size and the chart recomputes.
Set the finished sizeAt a glance
- Grid
- 3×3
- Pieces you cut
- 9 — subcutting turns them into the 21 in the sewn block
- Difficulty
- 3 of 5 — confident beginner How this is scored
Set the size
Nearest sizes that cut cleanly:
- Squares — Background
- 4½″
- Squares — Fabric A
- 4½″
- Squares for quarter-square triangles — Fabric A
- 5¼″
- Squares for quarter-square triangles — Background
- 5¼″
Reading focusHourglass units orbit the centre squarequarter-square-triangle unit
- Construction lattice
- 3 modules wide × 3 modules high
- Unit mix
- quarter-square-triangle unit, square
- Piece count
- 9 to cut · 21 in the diagram
Cut these pieces
Column headings are the FINISHED block size — the size it will be once it is sewn. Every number in the table is the size to CUT, which includes ¼″ of seam allowance on each edge. Rows that are subcut on a diagonal are cut larger still, so the allowance survives the extra cuts.
Scroll sideways to see every size.
| Patch | 6″ | 9″ | 12″ | 15″ | 18″ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Squares — BackgroundCut 4 | 2½″ | 3½″ | 4½″ | 5½″ | 6½″ |
| Squares — Fabric ACut 1 | 2½″ | 3½″ | 4½″ | 5½″ | 6½″ |
| Squares for quarter-square triangles — Fabric ACut 2, cut on both diagonals | 3¼″ | 4¼″ | 5¼″ | 6¼″ | 7¼″ |
| Squares for quarter-square triangles — BackgroundCut 2, cut on both diagonals | 3¼″ | 4¼″ | 5¼″ | 6¼″ | 7¼″ |
Read the block
Match each fabric letter in the diagram to the same fabric name in the cutting table. The caption describes the generated geometry in text.
Fabrics in this block
- A — gold
- BG — background
Which sizes divide cleanly
Scroll sideways to see every column.
| Grid | Divides cleanly at | The first few sizes |
|---|---|---|
| 2×2 | every 1″ | 1″, 2″, 3″, 4″, 5″, 6″ … |
| 3×3this block | every 1½″ | 1½″, 3″, 4½″, 6″, 7½″, 9″ … |
| 4×4 | every 2″ | 2″, 4″, 6″, 8″, 10″, 12″ … |
| 5×5 | every 2½″ | 2½″, 5″, 7½″, 10″, 12½″, 15″ … |
| 7×7 | every 3½″ | 3½″, 7″, 10½″, 14″, 17½″, 21″ |
- A 5-patch block at 12″ would need 2.4″ units, which is not a mark on any ruler. Try 10″ or 12½″ instead — Sister's Choice is the 5-patch block on this site.
- A 7-patch block at 12″ would need 1.714…″ units, which is not a mark on any ruler. Try 10½″ or 14″ instead — Bear's Paw is the 7-patch block on this site.
More about the sizes that do not divide cleanly
The sizes in between
A 10″ Ohio Star cannot be cut accurately on its 3×3 grid. Use 9″ or 10½″ instead; both cutting charts are on this page, computed by Quilt Block Atlas.
Both columns are FINISHED block sizes — the size a block will be once it is sewn, never a size to cut. Look the clean size up in the charts on this page for its cutting numbers.
Scroll sideways if the table is wider than your screen.
| Size you want | Nearest sizes that cut cleanly |
|---|---|
| 4″ | 3″ or 4½″ |
| 5″ | 4½″ or 6″ |
| 7″ | 6″ or 7½″ |
| 8″ | 7½″ or 9″ |
| 10″ | 9″ or 10½″ |
| 11″ | 10½″ or 12″ |
| 13″ | 12″ or 13½″ |
| 14″ | 13½″ or 15″ |
| 16″ | 15″ or 16½″ |
| 17″ | 16½″ or 18″ |
| 19″ | 18″ or 19½″ |
| 20″ | 19½″ or 21″ |
These sizes divide cleanly but sit between the main chart's columns — the same computed cuts, published here so they exist on paper too. Any other clean size still computes in the size input above.
Column headings are the FINISHED block size — the size it will be once it is sewn. Every number in the table is the size to CUT, which includes ¼″ of seam allowance on each edge. Rows that are subcut on a diagonal are cut larger still, so the allowance survives the extra cuts.
Scroll sideways to see every size.
| Patch | 4½″ | 7½″ | 10½″ | 13½″ | 16½″ | 19½″ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Squares — BackgroundCut 4 | 2″ | 3″ | 4″ | 5″ | 6″ | 7″ |
| Squares — Fabric ACut 1 | 2″ | 3″ | 4″ | 5″ | 6″ | 7″ |
| Squares for quarter-square triangles — Fabric ACut 2, cut on both diagonals | 2¾″ | 3¾″ | 4¾″ | 5¾″ | 6¾″ | 7¾″ |
| Squares for quarter-square triangles — BackgroundCut 2, cut on both diagonals | 2¾″ | 3¾″ | 4¾″ | 5¾″ | 6¾″ | 7¾″ |
About this block
- Pieces in the finished block
- 21
- Unit types
- quarter-square-triangle unit, square
- Divides cleanly at
- 1½″, 3″, 4½″, 6″, 7½″, 9″, 10½″, 12″, 13½″, 15″, 16½″, 18″, 19½″ and 21″ finished.
- Also known as
- Variable Star, Eastern Star, Western Star, Texas Star
- Brackman number
- #1631
- Fabric for one 12″ block
- ¾ yd total, rounded up to the nearest ⅛ yard, assuming 40″ of usable width.
Hourglass units keep their outer edges on straight grain — the bias sits on the interior diagonal seams, so the block edge is stable but the diagonals want gentle pressing. The side units sit turned against the top and bottom ones, and an hourglass reads the same upside down but not sideways — mark the top of each side unit as it leaves the machine. Neighbouring points meet at the corners of the centre square.
Piecing order
Make the 4 quarter-square-triangle units.
Lay out row 1 of 3 and sew its pieces together, left to right.
Lay out row 2 of 3 and sew its pieces together, left to right.
Lay out row 3 of 3 and sew its pieces together, left to right.
Join the 3 rows, matching the seams.
Cutting oversize
The chart gives the standard cut sizes, nothing padded. Some quilters cut this block's triangle units a little oversize and trim back — published allowances genuinely disagree on how much, so the range with its sources is on how to square up a quilt block.
History
The name is younger than the block: Barbara Brackman records that nobody knows what quilters called this design in the Civil War years, and the names now in use — Ohio Star, Texas Star — come from Carrie Hall's 1935 pattern index, The Romance of the Patchwork Quilt. Brackman catalogues it as #1631, with Variable Star, Eastern Star and Western Star among its other published names.
Sources: Barbara Brackman — Ohio Star.
Common questions
What size can I make Ohio Star?
Any size it divides cleanly: 1½″, 3″, 4½″, 6″, 7½″, 9″, 10½″, 12″, 13½″, 15″, 16½″, 18″, 19½″ and 21″ finished. The chart above carries 6″, 9″, 12″, 15″, 18″ ready-worked, and the size input computes any other clean size without you doing arithmetic — every value computed by Quilt Block Atlas, none transcribed.
How many pieces are in an Ohio Star block?
21 pieces make up the sewn block, but you cut 9. The difference is method: triangle units are cut as squares and subcut, so the chart's quantities are what your rotary cutter produces, not what you count in the diagram.
What sizes does a 3×3 block divide into cleanly?
1½″, 3″, 4½″, 6″, 7½″, 9″, 10½″, 12″, 13½″, 15″, 16½″, 18″, 19½″ and 21″ finished. The step is half the grid this block's cutting sizes are computed on, and the clean-size table above marks this block's row with the other families beside it.
Is Ohio Star good for a beginner?
It makes a fine early block, though not a first one — it scores 3 of 5, confident beginner, on this site's computed scale: 21 pieces, with the quarter-square-triangle unit as its hardest unit. The scoring rule, and every block ranked by it, is on the difficulty page linked above.
How do finished size, sewn unfinished/trim size, and starting cut size differ?
Finished size is 12″ after the block is sewn into surrounding seams. Its sewn unfinished/trim size is 12½″ before those outer seams, derived with the plain-square allowance. Starting cut size is the method-specific input listed in the chart. Starting cut size equals the unfinished outer target only for a plain square or rectangle workflow; it is not generally the same for pieced triangle units.
Keep going
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Where this block appears
Calculators for this block
Reference
Before you print
Measure this square before you cut. It must be exactly 1 inch. If it isn't, your printer scaled the page — reprint at 100% or "Actual size", not "Fit to page".