Empire Star Quilt Block Tutorial: A Unique 12″ Star Made with Just Two Units

Bold, graphic, and surprisingly simple, the Empire Star quilt block is a unique star design. This 12″ block is constructed using just two units—hourglass blocks and snowballed rectangles—making it quick and and satisfying for confident beginners and experienced quilters who love clean construction. The clever combination of these simple elements creates a striking, modern star with strong lines and beautiful movement. In this tutorial, I’ll walk you step by step through building the Empire Star with confidence and precision.

Fabric Requirements for a 12″ Finished Empire Star Quilt Block:

Light/White: 2 – 7.5″ squares, and 8 – 3.5″ squares
Medium/Blue: 1 – 7.5″ square
Dark/Blue: 1 – 7.5″ square, and 4 – 3.5″ x 6.5″ rectangles

Sewing Directions:

Diagonal Stripe Units:

Step 1:

The Diagonal Stripe units are made in the same manner as a Flying Geese unit except that opposite corners are snowballed instead of adjacent corners.

Using the four Dark/Blue 3.5″ x 6.5″ rectangles, and eight White 3.5″ squares sew together four Diagonal Stripe units. In the pictures below you can see the first four steps using the White 3.5″ squares.

Note the orientation of the diagonal line. This is important!

Mark a diagonal line from corner to corner on the back of the White 3.5″ squares.
Sew a White 3.5″ square to the Dark/Blue rectangle along the marked line (left image). Note the orientation of the marked line. Because this is a larger size unit, I also sewed another seam about 1/2″ away from the marked line so I can get a bonus half square triangle!
Match the corners of the White square and press (right image).

Step 2:

Open the small square up and trim in between the stitching lines (left image).
Refold (center image). You can also see the little bonus half square triangle that I can use in some other project (right image).

Step 3:

Repeat Steps 1 and 2 on the opposite corner of the Dark/Blue rectangle. Make a total of two Diagonal Stripe units (and four bonus half-square triangles) as shown below.

Step 4:

Repeat Steps 1 through 3 only snowballing the opposing corners of the Dark/Blue rectangles.

Step 5:

Here’s a picture of the four Diagonal Stripe units you will need for the block.

Hourglass Units:

Step 6:

Using the two Light/White 7.5″ squares, the Medium/Blue 7.5″ square, and the Dark/Blue 7.5″ square, sew together four Half Square Triangle units as shown in the picture below. You only need one of each coloring to complete the block. The other two can be used for making a second block or for a future project.

Press the seam allowances away from the Light/White fabric. No need to trim/square up these units at this time as we will trim in the next step.

You can find my tutorial for making basic Half Square Triangles at https://quiltembroiderypdf.com/how-to-sew-a-basic-half-square-triangle-block

Step 7:

Using two of the Step 6 half-square triangle units (one of each coloring) make two three-color Hourglass units as shown below. Trim/square up the units to 6.5″ square.

You can find a detailed tutorial for making the three-color Hourglass block at https://quiltembroiderypdf.com/how-to-sew-a-basic-hourglass-or-quarter-square-triangle-block

Putting It All Together:

Step 8:

Lay out the Diagonal Stripe units and the Hourglass units as shown in the picture below.

Step 9:

Sew the units into two rows as shown below.

Step 10:

Press the seam allowances in opposite directions as shown in the picture.

Step 11:

Sew the two rows together to complete the block.

Step 12:

And finally, press the seam allowance which ever way you like.

Layout Ideas:

Here is the basic 4 x 4 layout using colors similar to the tutorial.

In this example, I rotated the blocks and added narrow (1″) sashing and cornerstones.

This layout is where this block really shines. Every other block is rotated giving the illusion that the blocks are intertwined. This is also the traditional coloring of just a light and a dark fabric.

For this example, another color is added to the outer triangle of the block and every other block is rotated.

This an alternating layout where every other block is a modified square in a square block.

Of course I had to see what a scrappy layout would look like! It’s a bit busy but I think it would make a nice quilt.