You can probably tell from our patterns that the Rapid Fire® Lemoyne Star tool is a favorite at Studio 180 Design! Deb has designed many patterns that feature this fantastic block and is not shy in letting you know how much she loves this tool.
We have seven technique sheets that go along with the tool, giving you an array of blocks and designs. The only limit is your imagination!
Did you know that you can even use Lemoyne Star quadrants individually in other blocks? The basic Lemoyne Star block is put together like a four patch, with one quadrant being a square. Let’s take a look at how to trim these down using your Tucker Trimmer®, and how to use these quadrants in your blocks.
You’ll start by working through step 14 in the Rapid Fire® Lemoyne Star tool instructions, where you sew your pairs of star points together, we call a quadrant. We recommend trimming the dog ears off using your Tucker Trimmer®.
You can now trim this to the exact size it needs to be to go into your block. To determine the trim size of the quadrant, take half the finished size of your starting Lemoyne Star block and add half an inch for the seam allowance. For instance, if you used the strip sizes for an 8” finished block, you would trim the quadrant to 4½” using the Tucker Trimmer®.
To trim align the common diagonal with the center seam and the clean up lines along the inside edge of the unit. Trim to achieve a perfectly sized unit to put into any other block or combine it with other squares for a unique look.
This process is also great for trimming down Blazing Lemoyne Star blocks that are larger than 12” finished.
Try applying the different technique sheets to this process! There is no end to what you can do with the two combined. This is a Liberty Lemoyne quadrant.
We have some great examples of this technique in our patterns and some of our free BlockBusters.
Journeys uses both basic Lemoyne Stars and Liberty Lemoyne Stars.
Static Charge uses Banded Lemoyne Stars to achieve the jagged pattern.
Fair Isle uses Blazing Lemoyne Stars in this beautiful exploding effect.
BlockBuster #29 Poinsettia uses Lemoyne Star quadrants and Split Rects® units for a spikey floral block.
BlockBuster #55 Spring Blooms combines flying geese made with the Wing Clipper® and Lemoyne Star quadrants to make a flower style block.
BlockBuster #62 Sleight of Hand is a very unique combination of Lemoyne Star quadrants and Corner Beam® units of different sizes.
Try this technique for yourself and see what amazing effects you can come up with!
If you've listened to me talk for any amount of time, I'm sure you've heard me talk about my "CI's" or Certified Instructors. Usually, I give a brief description of what that is, but today? Today I'm going to give you the whole spiel, because it's time to start accepting applications for my annual Certified Instructor Training!
Our BlockBuster library is a free resource that is designed to help you make the most of your Studio 180 Design tools
