“ROY-G-BIV”

A Rainbow Wall Quilt (40” x 40”)

Fabric Requirements and Cutting Instructions Included for Larger Sizes!
Skill Level: Advanced

© 2012 Piecin’ Love Quilting – Terri Petasek Page 1

When I was deciding the colors for this quilt, I asked my husband what was the order of the
colors in the rainbow. His response: “ROYGBIV, didn’t you learn that in school?” Sheesh.

Of course, black isn’t in the rainbow but it added the punch I was looking for.

Fabric Requirements for 40” Wall Hanging:

Background of Star: 3/4 Yard
Color #1 (Red Diamonds): 1/4 yard
Color #2 (Orange Diamonds): 1/8 yard
Color #3 (Yellow Diamonds): 1/4 yard
Color #4 (Green Diamonds): 1/4 yard
Color #5 (Blue Diamonds): 1/4 yard
Color #6 (Violet/Purple): 1/8 yard
Color #7 (Black Accent Diamonds): 1/4 yard
(I used two blacks, a print for the radiating diamonds and a solid for the center of the star)
Inner Border: 1/4 yard
Outer Border: 1/2 yard
Binding: 3/8 yard
Backing: 1 ¼ yard
Batting: 45” x 45” minimum

(See last page for fabric requirements and cutting instructions to make a larger quilt)

PLEASE, PLEASE, read ALL instructions carefully! This is an advanced project and requires
prior quilting knowledge of cutting on an angle or bias, using bias edges, matching seams, and
sewing “Y” or inset seams, as well as binding the quilt once it is quilted.
If you need further instructions on the above, I encourage you to search the internet for
tutorials and videos on these subjects. I’ve included pictures of making the star points or
diamond blocks.

© 2012 Piecin’ Love Quilting – Terri Petasek Page 2

Cutting Instructions:
Note: WOF = Width of fabric from selvedge to selvedge

From your star fabrics (Colors #1 – 7), cut the following:

#1 (Red): Cut 3 strips (1-5/8” x WOF)

#2 (Orange): Cut 2 strips (1-5/8” x WOF)
#3 (Yellow): Cut 3 strips (1-5/8” x WOF)
#4 (Green): Cut 2 strips (1-5/8” x WOF)
#5 (Blue): Cut 3 strips (1-5/8” x WOF)
#6 (Violet): Cut 2 strips (1-5/8” x WOF)
#7 (Black): Cut 3 strips (1-5/8” x WOF)

Cut all of the above strips in half at the fold to make the strips approx. 1-5/8” x 21”.

From your background fabric, cut the following:

(Four) 9 7/8” squares

(One) 14 ½” square. Cut this square in half twice, diagonally, to make four triangles

From your inner border fabric, cut the following:

(Four) 1 ½” strips x WOF

From your outer border fabric, cut the following:

(Four) 3 ½” strips x WOF

From your binding fabric, cut the following:

(Five) 2 ½” strips x WOF

© 2012 Piecin’ Love Quilting – Terri Petasek Page 3

This star consists of eight identical diamond blocks or star points.
I have included a blank star diagram for you to color in with color pencils or attach fabrics to so
that you can keep track of placement. To keep it simple, color in only one star point section.
All eight star points are identical.

© 2012 Piecin’ Love Quilting – Terri Petasek Page 4

Sewing Strip Sets: ¼” seam allowance throughout. Consistent seam allowance is CRUCIAL.

Sort your strips into groups or sets. One group for each row (six rows) of the diamond block.

Using ¼” seam allowance, sew your groups of 1-5/8” x 21” strips together, staggering rows 1”
from left to right. You will have a strip set of six fabrics for each row in the diamond block.
See the pictures on below and on next page for examples of diamond block rows, color
placement, and of staggered rows.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The first color in the star row is on the bottom of the strip set and the last
color in the row is on the top. This may seem backwards, but….trust me.

This is what one diamond block or star point looks like. Note that (for example) the colors in
Row #1 begin with black on the left and run to blue on the right. When you are sewing and
cutting the strip set for Row #1, black will be on the bottom and blue will be on the top.

© 2012 Piecin’ Love Quilting – Terri Petasek Page 5

Below is a picture of the sewn strip set for Row #1.
The colors are sewn from bottom to top and are staggered 1” from left to right.
To begin cutting strip sections for your star, align your ruler with the 45 degree line across the
bottom of the strip set and the left edge of the ruler as far over as you can go without going
off any of the strips. It will look like this picture.

© 2012 Piecin’ Love Quilting – Terri Petasek Page 6

Trim off the corners of your strips so that you have a straight edge at 45 degrees.
Begin cutting 1-5/8” strips with your ruler using the 45 degree angle. It will look like the
following pictures.
You will need eight strip sections from each of your six strip sets. Pause after every couple of
strips to double check that you still have a 45 degree angle.

© 2012 Piecin’ Love Quilting – Terri Petasek Page 7

Before you begin sewing your star sections, lay out your strip rows (all row 1 strips in one
stack, all row 2 in the second, and so on…) in the order to be sewn, as shown below. Pin and
label each row set if you have to put them away and come back to them:

Sew rows together in pairs. You can sew all the pairs of row 1 and row 2 together and then go
on to rows 3 & 4, and 5 & 6 until you have three pairs, which would then be sewn together
into the star sections. Or you can sew each star section one row at a time until you have all
eight star points done. Whatever works best for you is how you should do this part.
This part of the sewing takes time and PATIENCE. Don’t try to rush through it. If you get
frustrated, take a break and come back.
Matching the seams is the toughest part because the seams go in opposite directions and you
can’t butt them up against each other. It is more like they cross each other in an “x”. See
explanation and pictures on the next page.

© 2012 Piecin’ Love Quilting – Terri Petasek Page 8

It is extremely helpful to mark the ¼” on the seams (wrong side of the row) with a pen or
pencil (just a little dash over the seam will do).

Match your seams with a pin which pokes through the seams right at the dashes on both sides.
Also, if you look at the picture below of the rows pinned together, note that you have a “dog
ear” or the point of one row extends over the edge of the other row. The point where the dog
ear and the opposite row meet should be ¼”. See text in picture.

Be careful not to stretch or pull as you are sewing. You are dealing with bias edges! Pin first.
Then if you have some fullness on one side, ease it in while sewing being careful not to stretch
more than absolutely necessary.

© 2012 Piecin’ Love Quilting – Terri Petasek Page 9

NOTE: If you have seams that don’t match (and this WILL happen), only rip out the portion of
the row needed to correct the seams that are off. Leave the good ones alone.

This is what your finished diamond block (or star point) should look like.
Make eight diamond blocks, all identical. Clip off any dog ears hanging out.
Press the seams of all eight diamonds in the same direction.

OK, if you made it this far, it’s all downhill from here. Really.

© 2012 Piecin’ Love Quilting – Terri Petasek Page 10

Now we will sew our diamond blocks into a star.
Before sewing, mark a dot on the WRONG side at the ¼” point of all for corners of the
diamonds.
HINT: I found it helpful to mark a ¼” line on either side of the diamond point and where the
lines crossed was where I marked my ¼” dot for matching.

Sew your diamonds together, matching the dots and pinning the seams. First in pairs, then in
fours.
These seams are easier to match because they run in the same direction and if you pressed all
your diamond seams in the same direction, they will be opposing when you sew the diamonds
together, therefore allowing you to butt them together for easy matching.

NOTE: PIN the points of your diamonds together. Lock your stitches and start sewing at the
¼” dot on the blue diamond. Sew all the way through the black diamond. Press the seams
between the diamond blocks open. This relieves the bulk when you have all the seams meet
in the center.

Once you have your “fours” sewn together, you now have two halves of the star. Match all
the seams across the width of the star, matching the ¼” dots on either end and all seams in
between.

You have your star!

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Ok, now you have your star together. The next step is to add the setting squares and triangles.
These require sewing “Y” seams or inset seams.

HINT: There is a great tutorial on Y seams here:

http://www.quiltuniversity.com/y_seams.htm
They use an eight pointed star block in the tutorial, and put the block together a little
differently than I did the Lone Star but the Y seam method is the same and they have pictures.

The first thing you need to do is mark the ¼” points on all the outside corners of your squares
and triangles.

If you haven’t done so already, mark the ¼” dots on all the star points and inside corners of
your star.

Starting with the corner squares:

Match the dots on one side of the square to the dots on one side of a diamond block. PIN!!!
Start sewing at the inside corner or “V” (blue diamond in the block).
Lock your stitches and sew to the outside edge of the star.

Match the dots on the other side of the square to the dots on the edge of the connecting
diamond block. PIN!!!
Start sewing at the inside corner or “V” (blue diamond in the block).
Lock your stitches and sew to the outside edge of the star.

Do all four corner squares.

Then do the triangles the same way. The triangle fabric should overlap the corner square
fabric at the outside edge of the star block to create your seam allowance so you don’t chop
off the points of your star when you sew the borders on.

Press the squares and triangles toward the star. This keeps your seams from showing through
your background material.

Congratulations! Pat yourself on the back because two borders to go and you are done!

© 2012 Piecin’ Love Quilting – Terri Petasek Page 12

Borders:

Now, take some time and straighten any edges of your star block that might not be even.

For sewing on the borders, normally I do the sides first and then the top but your star is
square, so it doesn’t matter which sides you do first as long as you do both borders in the
same order.

Start with the inner border.

Measure the sides and middle of your quilt in one direction. Average the three measurements
and cut two of your inner border strips to that length. Pin and sew to the sides of the quilt
that you just measured. Press toward the border.
Measure the sides and middle of the quilt in the opposite direction. Average the three
measurements and cut the remaining two borders to that length. Pin and sew to the
remaining sides of the quilt. Press toward the border.

Outer Border:

Follow the above instructions for your outside borders, putting your border strips on in the
same order that you did the inner border.

WooHoo! Your quilt top is done.

From here, quilt as desired or have your favorite long-arm quilter do his/her magic.

Here is my favorite way to prepare my quilts for hanging on a wall:

http://www.alzquilts.org/sleeve.html

Bind and enjoy!

Thank you so much for purchasing my pattern. You have no idea how much you are
appreciated!
If you have any problems or questions, feel free to email me at piecinlove@gmail.com.

I will be adding more photos to the pattern in the near future. If you purchased this pattern
from www.craftsy.com, you will be notified when I update the pattern and you will be able to
download the updated pattern at no additional charge.

© 2012 Piecin’ Love Quilting – Terri Petasek Page 13

Fabric Requirements and Cutting Instructions for Additional Sizes:

Fabric (based on 40” width of fabric to allow for differences in manufacturing):

46” x 46” 55” x 55” 62” x 62” 78” x 78” 90” x 90”
Background 7/8 7/8 1-5/8 2 3-5/8
Red 1/4 1/4 3/8 1/2 5/8
Orange 1/4 1/4 1/4 3/8 1/2
Yellow 1/4 1/4 3/8 1/2 5/8
Green 1/4 1/4 1/4 3/8 1/2
Blue 1/4 1/4 3/8 3/8 5/8
Violet 1/4 1/4 1/4 3/8 1/2
Black 1/4 1/4 3/8 3/8 5/8
Inner Border 3/8 5/8 5/8 1 1
Outer Border 5/8 1-1/8 1-1/2 1-7/8 1-7/8
Binding 3/8 1/2 1/2 5/8 3/4
Backing* 3 3-3/8 3-3/4 4-3/4 8

*Backing for sizes larger than 40” x 40” will need to be pieced. All backing yardage is based on
45” Width of fabric. All sizes can be pieced from two lengths of fabric except for 90” which
must be pieced from three. Hint: For 90” quilt, buy 108” wide fabric to save piecing time. Or
use leftover fabric from your backing to do your binding, will save fabric.

****I have calculated fabric amounts to the best of my ability, going over a little for cutting
errors.

© 2012 Piecin’ Love Quilting – Terri Petasek Page 14

Cutting:

46” x 46” 55” x 55” 62” x 62” 78” x 78” 90” x 90”
Background Four 11” Four 12 ¾” Four 14 ½” Four 18” Four 21 ½”
– Corner Squares Squares Squares Squares Squares
Squares
Background One 16 ¼” One 18 ¾” One 21 ¼” One 26 ¼” One 31 ¼”
– Triangles Square Square Square Square Square
(Cut square
in half twice
diagonally)
Red Three 1 ¾” Four 2” Strips Four 2-1/8” Five 2 ½” Six 3” Strips
Strips Strips Strips
Orange Two 1 ¾” Three Three 2-1/8” Four 2 ½” Five 3” Strips
strips 2” strips Strips Strips
Yellow Three 1 ¾” Four 2” Strips Four 2-1/8” Five 2 ½” Six 3” Strips
Strips Strips Strips
Green Two 1 ¾” Three Three 2-1/8” Four 2 ½” Five 3” Strips
strips 2” strips Strips Strips
Blue Three 1 ¾” Four 2” Strips Four 2-1/8” Five 2 ½” Six 3” Strips
Strips Strips Strips
Violet Two 1 ¾” Three Three 2-1/8” Four 2 ½” Five 3” Strips
strips 2” strips Strips Strips
Black Three 1 ¾” Four 2” Strips Four 2-1/8” Five 2 ½” Six 3” Strips
Strips Strips Strips
Inner Border Four 2” Strips Six 2 ½” Strips Six 2 ½” Strips Eight 3 ½” Eight 3 ½”
Strips Strips
Outer Border Five 4” Strips Six 5” Strips Eight 5 ½” Ten 6 ½” Ten 6 ½”
Strips Strips Strips
Binding Five 2 ½” Six 2 ½” Strips Six 2 ½” Strips Eight 2 ½” Nine 2 ½”
Strips Strips Strips
*WOF = Width of Fabric from Selvedge to Selvedge

**IMPORTANT: After sewing your strips together for your Star Rows, cut the strip sets on a
45 degree angle at the SAME width as the original strip cutting measurement. For example,
the strips for the 40” wall hanging are cut 1-5/8” wide and the strip set rows are also cut
1-5/8” wide at a 45 degree angle.

***For Sizes Larger than 40”, inner and outer borders must be pieced.

© 2012 Piecin’ Love Quilting – Terri Petasek Page 15