SDS4911 Sawtooth Star Vol4 Stamp9

Eight sharp points and a square at its heart — the star that has gone by more names than almost any other.

The Sawtooth Star is one of the great classic star blocks. A centre square is surrounded by four flying-geese units whose triangles form the eight points of the star, with a plain square in each corner. Those crisp, jagged points look just like the teeth of a saw — which is exactly how the block got its name.

It also has a long paper trail. According to quilt designer and historian Jinny Beyer, the Sawtooth design appeared in Farm & Fireside magazine in 1884. A little over a decade later, the famous Ladies Art Company — one of the first businesses to sell quilt patterns by mail order — listed it as "Evening Star," Block No. 5, in its 1897 catalogue.

⭐ Did You Know?

This little star has collected a whole constellation of names!

Over the years it has been called Evening Star, Variable Star, Eight-Pointed Star, Cluster of Stars, Square and Points, Nameless Star — and, most charmingly, Ann's Doll Quilt.

That's because quilt patterns travelled from quilter to quilter, from magazine to newspaper, and each community often gave a familiar block its own name. Yet through all those changes, "Sawtooth" has remained the name most quilters know it by.

🧵 A Little Heritage

The Sawtooth Star is also a "parent" block. Quilters soon began playing with it — placing a star inside a star, adding ribbons, or turning the points — and the Ladies Art Company's 1897 catalogue already included variations such as Star in a Star, Ribbon Star and Eight Hands Around.

Stars have always held a special place in quilting as symbols of hope, guidance and celebration. We've captured this timeless star as Volume 4, Stamp 9, giving you another little piece of quilt history to add to your Heritage Quilt Society collection.