Quiltspiration

Four Patch Star barn quilt pattern

The Four Patch Star barn quilt is painted on a 6 × 6 grid. On a 4 × 4 ft board each grid square is 8", and on an 8 × 8 ft board 16". It has 56 shapes in 3 colors.

Triangle points all around the edge, a ring of squares, and a square on point in the middle, on a six-by-six grid.

By Editorial Staff

Four Patch Star barn quilt painted in white, hunter green, barn red
Painted in white, hunter green and barn red.
Four Patch Star barn quilt layout on a 4 by 4 foot board with measurements
The layout on a 4 × 4 ft board, with the grid marks in inches from the top left corner. Numbers are the paint colors below.

Measurements for 2, 4 and 8 ft boards

Marks along the edges
BoardGrid squareMarks across the top and bottomMarks down the sides
2 × 2 ft4"4", 8", 12", 16", 20"4", 8", 12", 16", 20"
4 × 4 ft8"8", 16", 24", 32", 40"8", 16", 24", 32", 40"
8 × 8 ft16"16", 32", 48", 64", 80"16", 32", 48", 64", 80"

Each mark is measured from the top left corner, rounded to the nearest ⅛". Mark both opposite edges, then join the marks with a straightedge and a sharp pencil.

Paint for the Four Patch Star barn quilt

Two coats of exterior latex on the front, at 100 square feet a quart for each coat (labels say 300 to 400 square feet a gallon). Reds and yellows often need a third coat to cover evenly, so buy the next size up for those. Exterior paint starts at a quart, so on a 2 × 2 ft board 8 oz bottles of outdoor acrylic craft paint go further; what is left is for touch-ups.

Paint by board size
ColorShare2 × 2 ft4 × 4 ft8 × 8 ft
1. White50%1 quart (2 oz)1 quart (6 oz)1 quart (21 oz)
2. Hunter green28%1 quart (1 oz)1 quart (3 oz)1 quart (12 oz)
3. Barn red22%1 quart (1 oz)1 quart (3 oz)1 quart (10 oz)
Exterior primerFront, back, edges1 quart (3 oz)1 quart (11 oz)2 quarts (42 oz)

Ounces are what the paint takes; the size is what to buy.

Paint the lightest color first: white, then hunter green, then barn red. A darker color covers a lighter one that creeps under the tape, but not the other way round. The full method, from priming the board to hanging it, is in how to make a barn quilt.

The Four Patch Star as a fabric quilt

The Four Patch Star quilt block page has the cutting for four block sizes and the piecing steps. Quilts made with it: Christmas Star.

Try the colors before you paint

Quiltspiration draws any block in any colors, and gives the cut list when you sew it in fabric.

More barn quilt patterns