I have always loved quilt tops and have collected them for many years from thrift stores and yard sales. The problem with these beautiful hand-sewn tops is that it is impossible to use them until they have been quilted as the delicate woven fabrics fall apart when washed. Not so with our 100% organic cotton jersey, Alabama Indigo and Faded Leaves Jersey fabrics.
Our quilt this month is inspired by one of my favorite antique quilt tops and sewn to be the perfect lightweight cover. Made with our cotton-jersey in a single layer and a range of our Indigo, the quilt is sewn with our floating seams – described in both Alabama Stitch Book and Alabama Studio Style which give the effect those antique quilt tops. However, this technique eliminates the need to finish raw edges which will roll beautifully with the first washing.

The back of the is also very beautiful with the clean finished edges:

You can purchase one of our Indigo Star Quilts by contacting office(at)alabamachanin.com or make your own by following the instructions below.
Instructions for the Indigo Star Quilt:
Finished quilt measures: 57″ X 72″
Supplies:
5 yards organic cotton jersey in color Organic
1/2 yard organic cotton jersey in color Midnight
1/2 yard organic cotton jersey in color Wild Dove
1/2 yard in Faded Fabric Design (as described in Alabama Studio Style)
1/2 yard in Alabama Indigo color Light Denim
1/2 yard in Alabama Indigo color Medium Denim
1/2 yard in Alabama Indigo color Dark Denim
4 spools Button Craft thread in Grey
8 spools Button Craft thread in Cream
Embroidery Scissors
Sewing Scissors
18” transparent ruler
Rotary cutter
Cutting mat
Tailor’s Chalk
Patterns: Note that these patterns are based on a 3” side for the diamond shaped Pattern A, a 2 1/2″ square for Pattern B and the triangle shaped Pattern C is 2 3/8″ x 2 3/8″ x 3 3/8″; however, you may choose to make a larger quilt by enlarging these pattern pieces. We have included a 1/4” seam allowance in our pattern and followed all of the rules for threads and stitches from our Alabama Stitch Book and Alabama Studio Style.

Print and trace patterns A, B, and C onto pattern paper, heavy cardstock or cardboard.
Diamond shape measures 3” finished at each edge, Square measures 2 1/2″ at each finished edge. Triangle measures 2 3/8″ x 2 3/8″ x 3 3/8″.
Cut out your pattern pieces.
Using your tailor’s chalk , trace patterns B and C onto your 100% organic cotton jersey. You will need 192 pieces of pattern B and 384 pieces of pattern C.
Using your tailor’s chalk , trace pattern A on your Midnight, Wild Dove, Denim, and Faded Leaves fabrics. You will need 64 pieces of each color.
Hint: Cut the fabric 2 thickness at a time for a quicker result.
Design Details:
The stars are made up of 8 blue/grey pieces. We only use 6 blue/grey colors so each star has two pieces of the same color; we suggest keeping the colors randomly dispersed so each star is unique.
We chose to add a border to our quilt. It is optional, but we love the finished look. The instructions are at the bottom.
Block Construction:
1) With wrong sides together, cream thread and 1/4” from the raw edge, stitch the diagonal edge of a cream C piece to a blue/grey A piece as pictured in the illustration below.

2)Make 4 pieces this way.
3) With wrong sides together, cream thread and 1/4” from the raw edge, stitch the diagonal edge of a cream C piece to a blue/grey A piece as pictured in Sketch 2.

4) Make 4 pieces in this way.
5) With wrong sides together, and 1/4” from the raw edge, stitch together a piece made like Sketch 1 to a piece made like Sketch 2 along the long edge as pictured in Sketch 3. Stitch the cream pieces with cream thread and the blue/grey pieces with grey thread.

6) Make four sections in this way.
Assemble Block:
1) Layout the 4 sections made in Sketch 3 as shown in Sketch 4.

2) With wrong sides together, grey thread and ¼” from the raw edge, stitch A to B and then C to D and then stitch all 4 sections together along the diagonal from point 1 to point 2 as pictured in Sketch 5.

3) With wrong sides together, cream thread and 1/4” from the raw edge, stitch a cream B piece to each corner of the star by starting at the outside edge, stitch toward the inner corner of the cream B piece and continue stitching toward the other outer edge. This is quilt block.
4) Make 48 quilt blocks this way.
Join Blocks:
1) With wrong sides together, cream thread and 1/4” from the raw edge, stitch 2 blocks together along the right side edge as pictured in Sketch 6.

2) Make 8 rows this way.
Join Rows:
1) With wrong sides together, cream thread and ¼” from the raw edge, stitch the bottom edge of the first row with the top edge of the second row as pictured in Sketch 7.

Measure for Border Pattern:
1) Measure the finished width and height of quilt. The width will be used for border pattern A and the height will be used for border pattern B.
2) For border pattern A take the width measurement and this will be the length of your top edge. Then measure 7” down and draw a parallel line to create your bottom edge.
3) At both ends of you bottom edge measure out 7” then draw a diagonal line from the ends of the top edge to the ends of the bottom edge to create a mitered corner. See Sketch 8.

4) Add ¼” seam allowance around every edge. See Sketch 9.

5) For border pattern B take the height measurement and this will be the length of your top edge. Then measure 7” out and draw a parallel line to create your bottom edge.
6) At both ends of you bottom edge measure out 7” then draw a diagonal line from the ends of the top edge to the ends of the bottom edge to create a mitered corner. See Sketch 10.

7) Add 1/4” seam allowance around every edge.

Cut Border:
- Using tailor’s chalk trace around your border patterns onto cream fabric. Remove your pattern and cut out the border pieces along the inside line of the chalk.
- Cut out 4 border A pieces and 4 border B pieces.
Construct Border:
1) With right sides together, cream thread and ¼” from the raw edge, stitch2 pattern A pieces together along the bottom edge.
2) Repeat for the other 2 border A pieces.
3) With right sides together, cream thread and ¼” from the raw edge stitch 2 pattern B pieces together along the bottom edge.
4) Repeat for the other 2 border B pieces.
5) With right sides together stitch the mitre edges of border pieces together to form the rectangular shape of the quilt.
6) Then fold all the seams to the inside. Trim the corners and press seams. The outside edges are now clean finished.
Attach Border:
1) With top border edges and the raw outside edges of quilt, cream thread and ¼” from the edges stitch the quilt to the border on side at a time. Seam allowance should be outside and floating to match the rest of the quilt.
2) Press finished quilt with warm iron and sigh.
This is so beautiful – I am incredibly inspired to try this. I was hoping I could do something with my scraps of knit fabric, and I think this is the perfect solution. Thank you for posting the instructions to make this gorgeous blanket!
I’m having some major technical issues with these instructions. I’ve received the lovely fabric and I’m about to cut my pieces out with my rotary cutter, but I’m really confused about the dimensions of the pieces.
What is the actual finished size of the block?
Does the finished quilt size measurement include the border?
Does the fabric kit include fabric for the border?
What is the actual finished size of the block? The individual size of the block is 7 ½”. This may vary slightly because of the stretch ability of the fabric and the variation in each stitcher’s seams.
Does the finished quilt size measurement include the border? Yes, the finished size does include the border.
Does the fabric kit include fabric for the border? Yes, everything you need should be included in the kit. If something is missing, please let us know.
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Thank you posting this pattern! I’ve always avoided knit fabrics for quilting. This would be a fun way to upcycle old t-shirts.
I am fairly new to quilting and as a grandma I am making each grandchild a graduation quilt. My second granddaughter chose the indigo star for her quilt pattern. However she wants a full size quilt. Could someone help me with the amount of fabric needed for a quilt this size?
Hi Sarah,
A standard full size quilt is right around 96” x 110”, but varies on your source and personal preference. Our fabric is 55 inches wide per yard, depending on which variation of this flag quilt you will be making, yardage could vary. A great online calculator can be easily found to help you figure out yardage, if you will be making your own pattern for this quilt. For a single layer quilt of this size (96” x 110”), 6 yards should be sufficient, for a double layer quilt, you will need closer to 12 yards. If you would like to follow our flag quilt instructions they can be found here; this variation comes out to be 103” x 62” inches (and calls for 9 yards of fabric). You could follow these instructions and simply add a border to make it your desired width. Please let us know if you have any further questions.
Hi! I don’t see any visible thread ends at the stars’ points in the pictures above. But, since it is one-sided, I assume you’d see them, e.g., “KNOTS – outside?” I’ve cut-out all the pieces and am excited to start this lovely project. Thank you!
Hi Stephanie,
The knots are on the outside, but they are difficult to see with the amount of fabric that you have on the outside at each of the stars’ points. It’s fine either way (whether the thread shows or ends up being hidden in your seams).
We hope this helps. Please let us know if you have any more questions. Happy sewing!
Love this quilt!! Wondering if the DIY indigo star quilt kit is still available for purchase? I can’t seem to find it. Thanks!
This is so special, i would love to try in cotton.
Thank you, Lily!