My LeMoyne Star Odyssey

If you want to see my series on YouTube for the LeMoyne Star, you can find it  here.   I demonstrate (ad nauseum, you may need coffee and Tylenol) how I crafted this block.

 My blog has been a great indexer of events/interests in my life.  I began my LeMoyne Star Odyssey (LSO) nearly two years ago.  I was still a new quilter, and I was having many struggles with producing this block with consistently excellent results.  In fact, some of my results went into the trash bin...they looked like wounded birds with the diamonds crooked and puckered.  I know that I'm not the only person to find this challenging, because several cheater methods have been created using different methods or ruler aids to assist in the production of this beautiful block.

Why is this block so challenging?  It has eight diamonds which means there are 16 sides of bias in the diamonds, and eight sides of bias in the insets and eight Y seam insets.  All in one block. With bias galore, seams galore,  and insets galore, failure galore is a high probability.

As a natural researcher and avocational mad scientist, I attempted to find and try ALL of the ways to make this block--surely there was a secret sauce out there that would make the traditionally pieced way more accessible.  Regrettably, as a newer quilter, I did not have the visual, tactile or technical skill needed to evaluate methods:  only my poor results which could have been me, the method or a little of both.

The test of a GREAT method is one where the average person can execute. I was determined to find the holy grail of those methods, and I found one.  I just had to glomm it together from the teachings of three great quilters:  Shar Jorgenson, Edyta Sitar and Nancy Roelfsema. 

• Edyta's method of construction sequence and seam press.
• Nancy Roelfsema's statement to oversize insets
• Shar Jorenson's method of sewing insets off the corner to create a perfect X seam at the diamond shoulder join.
  

These methods provided me with the perfect trifecta to make this block perfectly every time.  But let's face it, to make a perfect LeMoyne Star, you have to make lots of failed stars.  By embracing your failure (or less happy outcomes), you learn the visual, tactile and   

Let's talk about the basics that must be pitch perfect to make this block successful:

• Cutting diamonds perfectly.  Diamonds have to be perfectly sized and cut--preserving the symmetry.  Any inaccuracies here will carry through the block.  A well marked ruler is key. 
  
• Cutting insets:  I slightly upsize my insets, so accuracy here is centered on ensuring that the corners are a perfect 90 degree angle.  I sew from the inside of the block to the outside of the block--then trim to perfection.
• Construction methodology: There are various ways to construct the block
• Sew pairs of diamonds first, then join pairs to make halves and then sew halves together.  Then do insets.
• I prefer this method as I had the best results.
  
• Sew pairs together, then insert triangle, then attach squares...sometimes like a flag, and then do a 135 inset v. a 90 degree inset on the final join.
• The money shot join of the diamond halves seemed to suffer on this. I did not have consistent results.
• Admonishments not to press.  
• I found that once I diagrammed out the bias on the block, I could press.  I got more consistent results when I pressed along the way.
• Inset method.  Various methods here.  I found that using an flat, engineered corner that nestled perfectly against the lower shoulder of the bottom diamond provided a perfect visual cue to placement.  Glue basting held everything in place.
• I used Shar Jorgenson's technique to sew off the inset corner/diamond shoulder for a perfect "X" for the "Y" seam.
  
• Sewing perfectly straight and accurate 1/4" seam.  If you don't upsize your insets, you may need a scant.  I upsize my insets, and I use my gated foot on my Bernina for a perfect 1/4".  And if  I have a wandering seam, it shows up with impunity the block.
  
• Pressing technique and seam spin.  Open?  Closed?  Spun?  One has to choose.  I use Edyta Sitar's way of pressing seams.
• Diamonds stitched first and pressed to one side and spun them in the middle.  Which side you choose is immaterial...you just have to stick to the direction that comes naturally to you.
• Triangles are set first and then pressed towards diamond.
• With my hand, I smooth each pair from the center toward the edge and finger pressing the seams toward the diamond.  I then use a pressing sheet and set the iron down with no movement.  
• Smoothing the diamond from the center to the outside edge straightens out the diamond and preserves the 90 degree angle for the square that will next be inset.  Very great care needs to be taken here. (Part of the tactile, visual thing).
  
• Squares set second and pressed toward diamond and triangle.
• After the squares are inset, careful pressing will ensure that the seams are tamed and the block is squared.  I spritz with fine mist, place a pressing sheet over it and work form the center of the block to each side to include moving the iron so that the diagonals are pressed.
• TRIM TO SIZE

 

In addition to the above, here are some other helpful tips:

• Use a pressing sheet.  I use the Teflon Sheets from Amazon, and I cut them in various sizes to meet my specific needs.
• Eagle Beak precision tweezers:  Really helps pull the top diamond shoulder out of the way when sewing off the corner.
• Havel Ultra Pro Seam Ripper:  This will help unpick a stitch or two if your corners are too tight and don't pivot at the 1/4" for the second seam.
  
• Marti Michell's Deluxe Corner Trimmer...places perfect 1/4" dots on each of your diamond shoulders (or you can use your 1/4" piecing foot markings).  If you use Shar Jorgenson's method, you don't have to mark your insets--but use this tool to clip for an engineered 90 degree corner.
• >50 wt thread.  I prefer Wonderfil Cottonized Polyester thread in 80wt.  It is as strong as the 50 (per their claim and per my experience) and it is very fine for less bulk in blocks that have many seams.
• Creative Grids Diamond dimensions ruler....get 3 point confirmation on your diamond angles prior to cutting.  But if cutting on the 8ths...you must use your regular ruler.
• Be patient and hone your skills.  This block requires that you hit all of marks perfectly.  Use your practice blocks to direct your improvements.  If your block does not finish well it is either in the cutting, sewing, pressing.  A small wobble on a bias seam magnifies.
• Consider glue basting.  I glue baste my insets which ensures that nothing shifts.