Riley Blake Starburst - Downloadable PDF

Riley Blake Starburst Quilt Pattern by Deena Rutter – Free Downloadable PDF

The Riley Blake Starburst is a stunning intermediate-level quilting pattern designed by Deena Rutter and available as a free downloadable PDF from Riley Blake Designs. This eye-catching quilt finishes at a generous 62" x 62", making it an ideal lap quilt or throw. The design centers on a bold starburst aesthetic built from precisely pieced star blocks, framed by a series of coordinating borders that give the finished piece a polished, cohesive look.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a square quilt measuring 62 inches by 62 inches, constructed from 9" x 9" finished star blocks. The blocks are arranged and combined with multiple border rounds to create the signature starburst effect. The pattern is noted as fat quarter friendly, meaning most fabric requirements can be substituted with fat quarters wherever an eighth of a yard is called for — a practical advantage for quilters working from a pre-cut stash or fat quarter bundles.

Techniques Used

• Star block construction – The central design element of the quilt, requiring careful cutting and assembly of star points and background squares.
• Half-square triangle (HST) method – A diagonal line is drawn from corner to corner on the wrong side of the 4" whisper white squares, which are then placed on top of assorted colored squares to create the angled star points. This is a classic and efficient quilting technique for producing crisp, accurate triangle units.
• Directional border cutting – Border 3 is cut directionally, meaning the fabric strips are cut lengthwise, parallel to the selvage, to preserve the visual integrity of the print as shown in the quilt photo. This is an important intermediate-level consideration when working with directional or stripe fabrics.
• Strip piecing and border application – Multiple border rounds are added around the central block arrangement, requiring accurate strip cutting across the width of fabric (WOF) and lengthwise cuts for specific borders.
• Right sides together (RST) sewing – All seams are sewn with right sides together, a standard quilting construction method.
• Seam allowance consistency – All measurements include a ¼" seam allowance, which is the quilting industry standard and must be maintained throughout for accurate block and border sizing.

Stitches Used

• Straight stitch – Used throughout for all piecing seams, sewn at a consistent ¼" seam allowance on a sewing machine.
• Diagonal straight stitch – Sewn along the drawn corner-to-corner line on the whisper white squares to form the star point triangle units.

Materials and Fabric Requirements

This pattern is designed specifically around Riley Blake Designs fabrics, with specific colorways and SKUs referenced throughout. Key fabric requirements include:

• 2 yards of C5500 Blue (blue main fabric) – A larger yardage requirement necessary to accommodate the directional cutting of Border 3, which requires two lengthwise strips cut at 5½" x 48½", plus three additional strips at 5½" x WOF for Border 4.
• 1/8 yard of C5500 Green (green main fabric) – A small accent quantity, substitutable with a fat quarter.
• Assorted fabrics – The star blocks incorporate a variety of assorted colored squares, making this an excellent pattern for using coordinating prints or scraps from the Riley Blake collection.
• Whisper white fabric – Used as the background square fabric for the star block construction, cut to 4" squares.
• C5506 Multi (multi stripes fabric) – Cut into 6 strips at 2½" x WOF, this striped fabric adds graphic energy and is used in one of the border rounds.

As with all quilting projects, standard quilting supplies are recommended, including a rotary cutter, cutting mat, quilting ruler, sewing machine, and iron and pressing surface for